Developing and emerging countries
As a pioneering think tank focused on mobilising private capital for the transition, the Sustainable Finance Observatory contributes to the global agenda of moving "from billions to trillions". Achieving the Paris Agreement and SDGs requires 70-90% of financing to come from the private sector. Emerging and developing countries represent up to 60% of global climate investment needs, yet face systemic barriers to capital access. We address these challenges through financial engineering. Building on the specialised expertise of former bankers and lawyers in our team, we develop bankability models and use financial structuring to improve the risk-return profile of projects and unlock private capital at scale.
Mobilising private finance for development
At the Fourth United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), the Sustainable Finance Observatory launched the initiative “Unlocking Capital with Finance Expertise Hubs.”
Co-authored with Dr. Barbara Samuels, Executive Director of the Global Clearinghouse for Development Finance, the report responds to a simple reality: 70–90% of the financing required to achieve the SDGs and global climate goals must come from private capital.
The initiative supports the development of country-based Finance Expertise Hubs, providing highly specialised financial expertise to scale up bankable project pipelines and unlock greater access to private finance from both domestic and international sources. It presents a scalable and immediately deployable solution to help close the SDG and climate finance gap in low- and middle-income countries. The initiative has been selected as part of the Sevilla Platform for Action, alongside 130 high-impact global initiatives.
We are currently collaborating with UN Environment Program (UNEP), the Global Clearinghouse for Development Finance and several countries to deploy such hubs.
Promoting the role of financial engineering in unlocking private capital for climate action at COP30 
The Sustainable Finance Observatory participated in COP30 in Belém with its President, François Gemenne and was present at the COP30 Local Leaders Forum and the Urban Nature Forum held in Rio de Janeiro ahead of COP30.
We were invited to present the role of financial engineering in unlocking private capital for climate action at eight international events organised by leading global climate action organisations (including the COP30 Presidency, UNEP, GlobalABC, ICLEI, the Global Covenant of Mayors, Regions4, Natural Resources Defense Council, Atlantic Council, Nature4Climate, Climate-KIC and others).
The UNFCCC and the IMF estimate that achieving the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals will require 70–90% of financing to come from the private sector. Our work on financial engineering focuses on developing bankability models and applying financial structuring to improve the risk–return profile of projects and unlock private capital at scale. This is achieved by making more strategic use of scarce concessional public finance and increasing its leverage effect.
At COP30, our presentations, dialogues and partnership discussions focused on three critical areas for mitigation and adaptation:
- energy-efficient building renovation
- cities and regions
- adaptation and biodiversity
Meet our developing and emerging countries team
Emilie Maehara
Deputy Executive Director
Emilie Maehara is the Deputy Executive Director of the Sustainable Finance Observatory. She has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of diplomacy, climate and finance. She worked on mobilizing climate finance in several city networks as Head of Finance Engagement and Partnerships for the C40 x GCoM Bloomberg Philanthropies Joint Programme and Deputy Executive Director of the Global Fund for Cities Development - FMDV. She previously held various position in the French public administration (Diplomat, Ministerial Advisor, Head of the Environment office at the Prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis).
Guillaume Lorentz
Head of bankable sustainable solutions
Guillaume Lorentz has over 20 years of experience in the financial sector, including senior roles at major investment banks such as HSBC. After five years working in market and model risk management, he spent 15 years in trading as a director in Paris and London, focusing primarily on structured products for global portfolios. His financial expertise has since expanded into sustainable finance, with a strong emphasis on the bankability of sustainable solutions through financial engineering. He has extensive implementation experience across fifteen countries in Africa, particularly in energy efficiency, sustainable cities, and carbon markets. At the Sustainable Finance Observatory (SFO), he leads the Bankability and Modelling Division, covering adaptation, biodiversity, energy, and climate-related topics.