British International Investment commits record amount to climate finance

• The UK’s development finance institution to reveal unprecedented levels of support for countries most exposed to the impacts of the climate emergency
• Over the last three years, BII has invested over $2 billion in climate finance

British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, last year invested over $900 million in companies leading the fight against the climate emergency in emerging markets.

The organisation, the UK government’s principal vehicle for delivering climate finance into many of the countries most exposed to the impacts of the climate emergency, announced the figure at the start of London Climate Action Week.

In total, BII invested $903 million (£708 million) in climate finance in 2024 – 41 per cent of its overall commitments for the year. This compares with just $104 million (£80 million) in 2020. The company’s climate finance assets now make up over 26 per cent of its entire portfolio, up from just over 15 per cent in 2020.

Over the last three years, BII has invested over $2 billion in climate finance.

Leslie Maasdorp, the Chief Executive of BII, said: “Our purpose is to reduce poverty and aid dependency in developing and emerging economies. We can’t do that unless we support our partners to meet the challenge of a rapidly changing climate and to seize the economic opportunities that the green transition provides. That is why climate finance is such a critically important element of our work and will remain so into the future.”

Companies supported by BII’s climate finance commitments in 2024 include:

• Etana, A South African energy trading company that will unlock hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment into renewable projects in the country
• SunCulture, a Kenya based company that provides solar-powered irrigation systems to smallholder farmers.
• EnerGrid, an Indian company that is focusing on developing greenfield transmission and standalone battery energy storage system projects.

The full details of BII’s climate finance commitments will be published in the company’s forthcoming 2024 Annual Review, which will be released at the start of July.

Founded in 1948, BII is the world’s oldest development finance institution and is owned by the UK government. It invests in businesses in developing countries to improve people’s lives and help protect the planet and is a vital part of the UK’s international development work to make the world a safer, fairer and more prosperous place for everyone.