July 2025
As climate impacts continue to worsen, transformative investments are required in both climate mitigation and adaptation-related infrastructure projects. The vast scale of investment needed and limitations in existing funding and financing channels require innovative approaches to generating capital for climate-related infrastructure. As climate investments can generate significant social and economic impacts, the most effective new avenues for climate-related infrastructure investment will be those with a high level of public participation and support in the project process.
This report explores three investment models with significant public involvement in the climate infrastructure investment process. These strategies are:
- Bond financing: the issuing of long-term loans by local and state governments to finance infrastructure assets.
- Special district financing: financing infrastructure improvements within the boundaries of a special district, used by municipalities across the U.S.
- Community investment trusts: joint investment trusts that result in local ownership of real estate by community residents.
The report then assesses these investment strategies for their potential applicability to financing three types of climate investments:
- Electric vehicle charging infrastructure: the charging stations that fuel electric vehicles (EVs).
- Offshore wind infrastructure: offshore wind turbines and supporting systems that generate electricity through oceanic wind power transmitted to the electrical grid.
- Direct air capture (DAC) infrastructure: a form of carbon dioxide (CO2) removal that directly extracts CO2 from the atmosphere at any location.
Across all three types of climate infrastructure analyzed, this report finds that EV charging infrastructure is most suitable for implementation through these investment channels today due to its variable scale, known revenue generation potential, and tangible community benefits. The authors also identify several key areas for future research in the application of innovative investment models to large-scale climate infrastructure such as transmission and port investments to support offshore wind development.
Access the full report here: Investment Models for Climate Infrastructure Implementation
For more information, contact: Kasia Kosmala-Dahlbeck, Ted Lamm