A two-day gathering in Brasilia last week brought together key stakeholders in the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) to celebrate 15 years of innovation and partnerships for ambitious climate action, opening and closing with mística rituals born out of Brazil’s landless workers movement.
The first day of the 15th anniversary gathering included two forums – “Beyond Coal: Solutions to Facilitate Coal-to-Clean Transitions” and “Mobilizing Climate Finance to Advance Women Climate Leadership” – and visits to the sites of two CIF-financed projects in Brazil.
A full day of celebration, “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow,” followed on Tuesday, with perspectives from governments, the multilateral development banks, industry, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society on the impacts of CIF investments, lessons learned, and the future of climate finance.
“What a privilege to be able to gather with this incredible community of change-makers to take stock of our accomplishments and set the stage for the next 15 years of our partnership,” said CIF CEO Mafalda Duarte.
CIF has invested extensively in Brazil’s Cerrado biome through its Forest Investment Program (FIP), supporting projects to promote sustainable forest management, maintain carbon stocks, and enhance livelihoods, while improving data collection and management.
The site visits on Monday, hosted by Embrapa Cerrados, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), focused on two of those projects, both of which were featured in a major independent evaluation of the development benefits of CIF’s climate finance investments.
Members of the CIF Trust Fund Committee got to see firsthand how the Macaúba-based Silvopastoral System Project, implemented by IDB with FIP funding, is helping to restore degraded landscapes while supporting sustainable livelihoods. The project has planted 1,910 hectares of Macaúba, a palm tree native to the Cerrado that produces high yields of vegetable oil. The goal is to plant 30,000 hectares of Macaúba by 2030.
The second field visit focused on the Rural Landscapes Project, implemented by the World Bank with FIP funding. As part of the project, a long-term experiment is testing different approaches to integrated landscape management with crops, livestock, and Cerrado vegetation, as well as conservation agriculture methods such as minimum and no tillage.
The “Beyond Coal” discussion, built around CIF’s US$2.5 billion Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) Investment program, focused on priorities for achieving just transitions for people and communities that now depend on coal, and on how to handle stranded infrastructure. Along with senior CIF team members, the conversation included perspectives from four countries chosen to participate in ACT: South Africa, Indonesia, Macedonia, and the Dominican Republic.
The panel discussion on women’s climate leadership – which had encouragingly high male attendance – highlighted the importance of proactive gender inclusion across all investments, with views from Brazil’s government, the private sector, and civil society.
Gender equity “is not just important for climate,” said Duarte, an outspoken advocate on gender issues throughout her tenure at CIF. “It’s important for what we’re trying to achieve collectively as humanity, the Sustainable Development Goals, eliminating poverty and ensuring prosperity to everybody. It’s everywhere, and it’s important to drive results across the board.”
The biggest and most festive of the activities in Brazil was the full-day celebration on Tuesday, June 27, “Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow,” a high-level event attended by over 600 stakeholders from around the world, with many more providing pre-recorded video messages.
The day’s first session focused on CIF’s impact on Brazil, which is set to grow through new funding for the Dedicated Grant Mechanism (DGM), which supports projects led by Indigenous communities, and the inclusion of Brazil in CIF’s new Nature, People, and Climate Program and Renewable Energy Integration program. The conversation included Brazil’s Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad and senior officials from the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the Ministry of Mines and Energy, as well as senior officials from the World Bank and the IDB.
Two other discussions on Tuesday took a global view, with a retrospective conversation including panelists from Brazil, Burkina Faso, and India, and a strong focus on Indigenous perspectives, and a forward-looking discussion with an even more diverse panel, including Brazil’s Minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sônia Guajajara, as well as panelists from MDBs, think tanks, and the International Solar Alliance. In-between, a “fireside chat” focused on the current state of play. There were also keynote addresses from Duarte and from Edward Webber, Deputy Director of the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Closely related to that conversation, on both Monday and Tuesday, CIF hosted a DGM Marketplace where DGM participants set up stalls selling their products to all guests. In the afternoon, a panel discussion on FIP’s contribution to the Cerrado brought together diverse perspectives from Brazil to draw out lessons that can inform future work.
“We are immensely grateful to all who helped make this beautiful celebration possible,” said Duarte, “starting with our hosts, the Government of Brazil, and our partners, especially the six MDBs, as well as all who participated in person and virtually. Thank you for making this event so memorable and inspiring!”