Dutch Fund for Climate and Development – Investing for climate-resilient economic growth

Investing for
climate-resilient
economic growth

About Us

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of today. Already its impacts are being felt by people and nature across the globe, with developing countries being most affected.

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) enables private sector investment in projects aimed at climate adaptation and mitigation in developing countries.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made available €160 million to increase the resilience of communities and ecosystems most vulnerable to climate change.

The DFCD is managed by a pioneering consortium of Climate Fund Managers (CFM), World Wide Fund for Nature Netherlands (WWF-NL) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, led by the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO.

The DFCD forms an important additional instrument for the Dutch government’s efforts in contributing to the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Climate-resilient economic growth

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) seeks to improve the wellbeing, economic prospects, and livelihoods of vulnerable groups and enhance the health of critical ecosystems, from river basins to tropical rainforests, marshland, and mangroves. The fund’s activities will also help protect communities and cities from the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and benefit weakening biodiversity in areas that provide people with water, food, medicine, and economic opportunity.

Approach

The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) provides finance and Technical Assistance to projects with a focus on climate change adaptation, to mobilize external private sector funding at scale. DFCD funding is divided amongst three operating windows, each with a specific focus: the origination facility, the land use facility and the water facility.

Partnership for impact

The DFCD consortium aims to serve as a leading example for institutional partnerships, to attract and deploy public and private capital in well-designed and impactful climate-friendly projects. The consortium connects the long-standing project development expertise of SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and WWF-NL to the capital raising and investment capabilities of Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) and Climate Fund Managers. This will allow projects to graduate from ideas to full implementation, using full lifecycle financing.

The focus countries

A substantial allocation of the Dutch Fund for Climate and Developments’ investments will be reserved for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and other Netherlands development cooperation priority countries.

Facilities

The DFCD will focus on several high impact investment themes, including climate-resilient water systems, water management and freshwater ecosystems, forestry, climate-smart agriculture, and restoration of ecosystems to protect the environment.

Origination Facility

Managed by World Wide Fund for Nature Netherlands (WWF-NL) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation collectively, the Origination Facility is positioned exclusively for project identification and (pre-) feasibility development activities with a cross DFCD thematic sub-sector focus.

Land Use Facility

Managed by FMO, the Land Use Facility targets investments that have graduated from the Origination Facility in sectors relating to agroforestry, sustainable land use and climate resilient food production.

Water Facility

Managed by Climate Fund Managers, the Water Facility will also target investments that have graduated from the Origination Facility in sectors related to water and sanitation infrastructure, as well as environmental protection.