- The Partnership for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) launched set of practical resources during Climate Week New York City
- The goal is to significantly increase the current low (1%) level of Development Banks’s investment in the energy efficiency in buildings
- Public development banks and private financial institutions can access a comprehensive toolbox and tailored training via the GlobalABC’s Finance Hub
- Mexico, Sri Lanka and North Macedonia to benefit from first trainings
- On the run-up to COP30, PEEB and GlobalABC aim at expanding the Toolbox and trainings into a larger initiative to strengthen Development Banks’ preparedness for green building investment
New York City / 23 September 2025. The Partnership for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) launched today a practical toolbox and training programme to help development banks and private financial institutions to unlock investment in energy-efficient buildings worldwide. With only 1% of current development banks portfolio going to the energy sector, including energy efficiency, strengthening these institutions’ capacities for investment in efficient and resilient buildings is the goal of a larger initiative based on the Toolbox and spearheaded by PEEB and Global ABC.
The Toolbox joins the resources of PEEB’s publication “Energy Efficiency in Social Infrastructure: a Toolbox for Development Banks” and training modules under development by GIZ and AFD as part of the Partnership’s activities. Together, the publication and the training offer hands-on experience for integrating buildings sustainability across operations. It is part of a larger initiative anchored at GlobalABC’s Finance Hub.
Launched during Climate Week New York City, this Toolbox is the result of PEEB’s ongoing engagement with development banks as key actors in financing a sustainable built environment. First, PEEB partnered with the Finance in Common Summit’s (FiCS) Social Investment Coalition and 15 development banks to gather actionable guidance based on their best practices. The next step was a needs assessment of financial institutions in emerging and developing countries. The result was a curriculum to help banks understand what sustainability in the built environment means, and how to integrate it across their operations.
Only 1% of the Global Investment in Energy–including energy efficiency
These resources come at a crucial time for climate action. Investments in Energy Efficiency in Buildings must triple to achieve Paris Agreement goals. Development Banks on all levels are key actors in the financial sector, accounting for 10% of global investment. Yet, they represent only 1% of investment in the energy sector, energy efficiency in buildings included. This is a missed opportunity, as they possess critical expertise on the localized contexts in which the buildings and construction sector operates.
Training and peer learning are essential to ensure engagement of development banks globally and achieving massive growth in investment levels. PEEB is engaging actors working on sustainable finance for the pilot trainings in PEEB partner countries Sri Lanka and Mexico. Additionally, it will also be piloted at the International Forum on Energy for Sustainable Development in Skopje (North Macedonia).
Moving beyond the one 1% and tripling the annual investment in Energy Efficiency in Buildings to the annual US$522.5 billion needed to keep the world on track with Paris Agreement Goals, however, requires increased action. This is why PEEB will bring its advocacy for a Toolbox-based large capacity development initiative for development banks at COP30 in November.
How Can Development Banks Bridge the Finance Gap?
Despite various successful experiences by different development banks, energy efficiency in buildings remains a complex and relatively new topic for most financial institutions. Existing policies, regulations, and financial incentive schemes still fail to reward sustainable building projects over conventional ones.
Many development banks have achieved results through reliance on certifications, but a deeper transformation of buildings and construction finance is still required to make sustainable buildings the norm. The capacity needs assessment conducted by PEEB showed that a deeper understanding of building sustainability, as well as its integration throughout operations of financial institutions, is necessary to move from individual investments to sustainable buildings portfolios. This involves data collection, cost-benefit analyses, property valuation, project pipeline and product development.
Better regulatory frameworks and their solid enforcement can enable financial institutions to develop more sophisticated financial instruments to realize the long-term returns of sustainable buildings. By deploying strategies such as blending public funds with private capital, de-risking projects, and aligning with evolving taxonomies and disclosure standards, development banks can unlock massive finance for sustainable buildings.
The toolbox and more information about the initiative are accessible on the PEEB website. For more information, contact: info@peeb.build
Joscha Rosenbusch, Co-head of Secretariat, PEEB
“The toolbox offers practical, hands-on resources to strengthen development banks’ crucial role in mobilising and scaling climate finance. We are proudly building on the collaboration with key actors in the field, such as the Finance in Common Summit, who know the challenges as well as the solutions to overcome them. In creating these resources, we made the best use of PEEB’s implementing agencies’ expertise: AFD’s track record in financing energy efficient buildings and GIZ’s experience with policy transformation and institutional capacities. We expect that turning this into a larger initiative, thanks to GlobalABC’s networking power, will drive a safer, comfortable, and affordable built environment for all.”