Transport accounts for 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of the world’s highest emitting sectors. But mobility systems must continue to expand to better serve residents and businesses, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where infrastructure is racing to keep up with increasing urbanization and demand. At the same time, the growing impacts of climate change threaten transportation infrastructure, creating demand for adaptation to harden the resilience of mobility systems. Yet, transport projects are not always seen as climate projects.

Transport receives $334 billion annually in global climate finance, far short of the $2.4 trillion needed each year until 2050. LMICs face high borrowing costs, limited investment and insufficient capacity to assess risks or develop bankable projects, which exacerbates the climate finance gap.

The Access to Climate Finance for Transport initiative, supported by the High Volume Transport program of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, aims to assist LMICs in obtaining climate finance for low-carbon transport solutions. By conducting research, engaging stakeholders in LMICs and collaborating with financial institutions such as multilateral development banks, the project provides evidence-based recommendations to increase the availability of climate finance for the transport sector. This initiative is focused on lowering emissions, improving services and building resilience, particularly in rapidly growing cities and rural areas in Africa and South Asia that need  all-weather roads.

The project follows a structured, three-phase approach moving from research to real-world impact:

  1. Phase 1: Establish a foundation of knowledge through data collection and analysis, including a “state of knowledge” publication, an academic paper and stakeholder consultations.
  2. Phase 2: Translate gathered insights into practical resources including a policy guide aimed at guiding stakeholders in accessing climate finance.
  3. Phase 3: Dissemination and capacity-building, delivering tools like a Digital Climate Finance Toolkit and workshops to empower stakeholders with actionable knowledge.

Stakeholder Consultations

WRI and partners have engaged a broad range of stakeholders through five multistakeholder convenings, workshops and roundtables held between January and June 2024. These sessions included virtual meetings with over 30 global stakeholders as well as in-country workshops in Kenya, Vietnam and India. Participants from government agencies, private sector companies, financial institutions, NGOs and international organizations shared insights on key barriers to climate finance and discussed solutions tailored to low- and middle-income countries. Topics included identifying finance access challenges, scaling up pilot projects and developing actionable tools for policymakers. These events were designed to foster dialogue among public, private, and development stakeholders and to contribute insights to research findings and recommendations, ensuring alignment with real-world needs and local contexts.