Chell Lyons is developing an international performance benchmarking framework for green banks as part of her PhD research at The Australian National University (ANU).

A Sir Roland Wilson scholar from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Chell is investigating the role green banks can play in accelerating sustainable investments.

“In recent years, achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement has shifted from being primarily a question of technological capability, to one of effective investment,” Chell explains.

The Paris Agreement, a 2015 international treaty on climate change, aims to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

“To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, it is estimated hundreds of trillions of dollars will need to be invested globally by 2050.

“We need to rapidly accelerate investment to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The next decade will be critical in making sure the Paris Agreement succeeds.”

This is where green banks can help.

A green investment bank is a public entity established specifically to facilitate private investment into domestic low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure.

Australia’s green bank, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), was founded in 2012 and is now the biggest in the world.

“The CEFC specialises in providing concessional finance to private companies which are unable to secure commercial funding – often due to the newness of technology and the limited availability of prior data on which to base risk analyses. The CEFC offers lower interest rates, longer loan terms and income-contingent repayments.

“The model for the CEFC has worked really well in Australia. As part of my research I’ll be looking into whether a similar model can be deployed elsewhere, possibly in Southeast Asia.”

Through her research, Chell also aims to develop a performance benchmarking framework for green banks around the world.

“Tracking the effectiveness of the investments that green banks make is quite complex. I hope to find a way to adequately capture the value of the non-monetary benefits of public investments in the transition to net zero emissions”

The Sir Roland Wilson scholarship is a three-year full-pay scholarship for PhD research at ANU for high performing EL1 and EL2 Australian Public Service (APS) employees.

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