Avinash Persaud On Unlocking Development Banks' Potential For Adaptation

Avinash Persaud isn’t afraid to tell the hard truths on adaptation finance.

At a conference in Brasilia last month, the Special Advisor on Climate Risks to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) told delegates that trillions of dollars of private money for adaptation were unlikely to materialize, and that attention should be turned instead to maximizing the finance provided by multilateral development banks (MDBs).

In today’s episode, Avinash lays out his thinking on scaling adaptation finance using extra-long-term MDB loans, complete with flexible conditions — like climate-resilient debt clauses — that make it easier for developing countries to take on debt for climate-proofing purposes.

He also details innovative donor-backed financing models that reward countries for successfully completing resilience projects, a new spin on the blended finance transactions that are taking adaptation-world by storm.

Whether you're an investor, policymaker, or climate advocate, this episode has something for you.

Listen below, download from the Podcasts page on Climate Proof, or tune in via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

We talk about:

👉 Why MDBs are central to financing large-scale climate adaptation projects, such as resilient infrastructure and flood defenses, in vulnerable regions like Latin America and the Caribbean

👉 How ultra-long-term, low-cost loans with climate-resilient debt clauses could help developing countries invest in the adaptation measures they need

👉 The importance of climate risk data in informing investment decisions, helping governments prioritize adaptation projects, and ensuring systemic, rather than piecemeal, resilience

👉 Additional donor-backed financing strategies for lowering the costs of adaptation to climate-vulnerable nations

👉 How MDBs can “sweat their balance sheets” by using mechanisms like hybrid capital and rechanneling special drawing rights (SDRs) to expand lending capacity and drive greater climate resilience outcomes

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Thanks for listening!

Louie Woodall
Editor