Intern, Climate Finance

Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) works with governments, financial institutions, and businesses to drive economic growth and development while addressing climate risk and increasingly scarce natural resources. We help to improve the most important energy and land use policies around the world, with a particular focus on finance. CPI works in places that provide the most potential for policy impact, including Brasil, Europe, India, Indonesia, Kenya and the United States. Our work helps nations grow while addressing increasingly scarce resources and climate risk. This is a complex challenge in which policy plays a crucial role. CPI is a small but dynamic organization, with a global reach and an entrepreneurial culture. We work hard to maintain an idea-driven, collaborative environment across all our teams.

CPI’s Climate Finance program guides decision-makers who are working to ensure economic growth while addressing increasingly scarce resources and climate risk. Enough capital exists to transition the world into a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. However, current investment in climate-friendly development falls far short of the need. CPI works to redirect finance from high- to low-carbon activities and helps decision makers use their resources wisely. 

About the Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance

The Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance (the “Alliance”) is the only multi-level and multi-stakeholder coalition aimed at closing the investment gap for urban climate projects worldwide.

Launched at the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in September 2014, the Alliance has successfully provided an efficient platform and convening space, gathering the relevant actors dedicated to urban development, climate action, and/or financing, and providing knowledge and understanding to these various actors.

Its members represent many of the world’s largest city and subnational networks, major public and private financial institutions, governments, and international organizations. Indeed, the Alliance consists of around 60 members, representing the main market players in city-level climate finance.

The need for urgent climate action is greater than ever, and the investment needed in low-carbon infrastructure is still far from enough. Since the Alliance was launched, an increasing number of actors and programs have engaged in subnational climate financing activities. As these activities have grown, the need for collaboration has become increasingly important. Therefore, in 2019, the Alliance was renewed by its members to be strengthened and reformulated with greater political support for the organization, adopting a stronger, more comprehensive mandate, and granted additional funding from the German government. The Alliance has since expanded its membership and the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) has been named its new Secretariat.

The State of Cities Climate Finance Report

Building on this momentum, the Alliance aims to produce the 2020 State of Cities Climate Finance Report as a flagship report. To achieve a true transformation of subnational climate finance, a more systematic approach must be undertaken on a global scale. The 2020 State of Cities Climate Finance Report will address key structural constraints to scaling-up climate finance.

The report intends to track subnational climate finance, forging the path to help increase bankable projects, catalyse more capital, and enable the creation of national frameworks that strengthen subnational access to climate-related finance. The report will build on the 2015 State of Cities Climate Finance report findings and propose new ways that cities can face the main limitations to raising climate-friendly finance.

Successful candidates will have the opportunity to work with a world-recognized team on a highly impactful analytical project that supports subnational policy frameworks and investments that can drive the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient urban environments. You will be part of the core analytical team, helping to develop the methodology, collect data, and build an analysis on the state of climate finance for cities.

 Responsibilities

• Work with leading analysts on building definitions and taxonomies, and developing the tracking methodology
• Assist in the collection of activity-level data for specific sectors that are relevant for cities climate finance
• Research for a city case study, consisting of a deep dive in city budgets and climate finance governance structure
• Help develop the analytical narrative around the data collected
• Contribute to the writing and reviewing process of the final product

 About you

• You are pursuing, or have recently completed a post-graduate degree in a relevant field (e.g. economics, finance, geography, urban studies, public policy, civil engineering). Bachelor students may also be considered depending on experience
• You have working knowledge of issues in domestic and international climate policy. An interest in cities finance is highly desirable
• You have an entrepreneurial but precise, detail-oriented approach to research and data analysis. Quantitatively rigorous background preferred
• You have demonstrable experience in data collection and consolidation, or a keen desire to learn
• You have excellent writing skills and ability to assist in producing and editing high-quality CPI products such as reports, presentations and blogs to short deadlines
• Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel. Knowledge of other software including R, Python, SQL, GIS is desirable
• You are a focused professional with an enthusiasm for working as part of a team, and the ability to interact with a diverse group of people from inside and outside the organization
• You have a strong commitment to CPI’s mission and values

How to apply

Click on this link to submit an application. As part of your application please attach your CV and a cover letter outlining how your skills and experience align with the requirements above. Please also include your availability (including whether full-time or part-time). 

Applicatoin deadline: 30 April, 2020

Please note:

• Applicants must be available for a minimum of three months but ideally we would welcome interns to be with us for a longer period up to 6 months
• All CPI staff are currently working remotely due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Assuming that we are not back in the office by the time the internship begins, applicants will need to have access to technology including reliable internet connection and a computer. 
• Only short-listed applicants will be contacted
• Applicants must be eligible to live and work in the UK/EU