Limiting global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels will require massive reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from business-as-usual—on the order of 40 percent to 70 percent in 2050 compared to 2010, and near net zero emissions by 2100. At the same time, new investments will be needed to shift the world to a low-carbon economy. Responding to the scale of the climate change challenge will require a fundamental transformation in our political, economic, energy, and socio-technical systems. This working paper examines how climate finance can be
transformational by gleaning insights from nine low-carbon energy case studies, selected to cover a variety of geographies, energy sources, and degrees of transformation.