Key facts
- Climate Investment Funds (CIF) approved $500 million in catalytic financing for Brazil and Mexico.
- Each country will receive $250 million from CIF.
- The financing aims to unlock over $5 billion in combined co-financing from multilateral development banks and the private sector.
- Mexico's plan targets iron and steel, aluminum, cement, and chemicals sectors.
- Brazil's plan focuses on iron and steel, cement, chemical, and fertilizer sectors.
- The initiatives are projected to avoid nearly 2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) have approved $500 million in catalytic financing for Brazil and Mexico, aiming to unlock over $5 billion in combined co-financing to accelerate the decarbonization of their industrial sectors. Each country will receive $250 million from the $14 billion pool of climate-focused capital.
In Mexico, the funds are expected to mobilize $1.68 billion in co-financing, including $1.2 billion from private investors, while Brazil's plan is projected to catalyze more than $3 billion, with $1.36 billion from the private sector. These initiatives are part of CIF's Industry Decarbonization Program, designed to reduce risk and attract private and institutional capital to projects that might otherwise be avoided.
Brazil's $250 million plan focuses on the iron and steel, cement, chemical, and fertilizer sectors, which account for a significant portion of its industrial emissions. Mexico's plan targets the iron and steel, aluminum, cement, and chemical sectors. Decarbonization will be achieved through investments in low-emissions processes, energy efficiency, and industrial cluster development.
Together, the two programs are projected to prevent the release of nearly 2 million metric tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere annually and are expected to promote green jobs and just transitions. CIF's program features a significant private sector carve-out, aiming to mobilize private capital for hard-to-abate industrial sectors.