Obama Looks to Raise $2 Billion in Climate Change Investments

The Obama administration on Tuesday set a goal of raising $2 billion in philanthropic investments to fight climate change, including technologies to slash carbon emissions.

The Clean Energy Investment Initiative is seeking investments to try to bridge the "valley of death" - the gap in funding between research and development and commercialization that holds back many clean-energy startup companies - said Brian Deese, deputy director at the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

The plan requires no additional U.S. taxpayer money but uses "the convening power and technical know-how of the Department of Energy," said Deese, who announced the plan at an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) annual conference, outside Washington.  ARPA-E is an Energy Department office funding projects that have potential to revolutionize energy markets but are too risky for the private sector to invest in initially.
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Several groups have already made commitments to the initiative, according to a White House fact sheet.  For example, the University of California's Board of Regents will allocate at least $1 billion of its endowment and pension over five years for investments in solutions to climate change.

As part of the plan, the White House will host a Clean Energy Investment Summit in coming months, as a forum for foundations and institutional investors to scale up investment in renewable energy innovation.

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