Finance
The mission of WRI’s Finance Center is to promote the shift of finance away from environmentally unsustainable activities and toward sustainable ones. We do this through the production of data-driven, policy-actionable research and knowledge products and by convening coalitions of key stakeholders that can drive action on the ground.
Our team is multidisciplinary and brings together experience from academia and the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
Helping to Meet Global Challenges
The Finance Center supports the rest of WRI as we seek to tackle WRI’s Global Challenges. We do so through deep, multi-year partnerships with a subset of WRI Programs, through cross-cutting activities designed to influence financial institutions and markets, and through the provision of tailored technical advice to WRI’s programs and international offices.
Our work is structured around five key themes: (1) financing NDC implementation, (2) “greening” private sector finance, (3) strengthening public financial institutions, (4) encouraging the U.S. and China to be sustainable finance champions, and (5) strengthening investment in adaptation and resilience.
Keep up with our work by subscribing for news and updates via email and following us on Twitter @wrifinance.
Top Finance Outcomes
What's a top outcome?
Top outcomes are WRI's biggest success stories. They occur when our analysis, solutions, or partnerships result in significant change in the world.
Featured Expert

Giulia Christianson
New in Finance
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Finance Projects
Strengthening Public Financial Institutions
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Strengthening Public Financial Institutions
Strengthen key policies and governance elements in strategically-important institutions in order to promote financing for sustainable activities and discourage financing for unsustainable ones.
Financing NDC Implementation
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Financing NDC Implementation
Promote NDC financing by identifying key capacity bottlenecks developing products designed at loosening those constraints.
Greening Private Finance
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Greening Private Finance
Advancing sustainable investment practices in the mainstream investor marketplace through tailored data, research, and peer-to-peer learning.
Encouraging US and China to be Sustainable Finance Champions
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Encouraging the US and China to be Sustainable Finance Champions
Fostering and encouraging the United States and China to lead by example and serve as sustainable finance champions.
Strengthening Investment in Adaptation
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Strengthening Investment in Adaptation and Resilience
Finance for adaptation and resilience remains modest relative to estimated needs, and adaptation remains largely dependent on grant funding from public sources. Yet, public finance for resilience can be invested more effectively.
Experts
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Giulia Christianson
Senior Associate, Head of Sustainable Investing -
Gaia Larsen
Senior Associate, Finance Center -
Joe Thwaites
Associate II, Sustainable Finance Center -
Ariel Pinchot
Sustainable Investing Associate -
Lihuan Zhou
Associate II, Sustainable Finance Center -
Ye Wang
Research Analyst, Finance Center -
Natalia Alayza
Research Analyst II, Finance Center -
Jessica Bahsoon
Program Specialist -
Julie Bos
Research Analyst, Sustainable Finance Center -
Molly Caldwell
Research Analyst -
Lorena Gonzalez
Senior Associate, UN Climate Finance -
Hayden Higgins
Communications Manager, Sustainable Finance Center -
Shuang Liu
Senior Associate -
Ziyi Ma
Research Assistant, Sustainable Finance Center -
Carolyn Neunuebel
Research Analyst II, Finance Center -
Thomas Puryear
Grants & Finance Specialist II, Sustainable Finance Center -
Ichiro Sato
Senior Associate, Climate Program/Sustainable Finance Center -
Lauren Sidner
Associate II -
Caitlin Smith
Associate, Sustainable Finance Center -
Jayson VanBeusichem
Operations Manager, Finance Center -
Yili Wu
Research Analyst II, Sustainable Finance Center