Climate Policy Initiative (CPI)

Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) is a non-profit research and advisory organisation that works at the intersection of climate, energy and finance. Founded in 2009 by Thomas Heller and headquartered in San Francisco, CPI helps governments, businesses and financial institutions design policy and finance solutions that support economic growth while addressing climate change.

India is one of CPI’s longest running and most active country programmes, run out of a dedicated office in New Delhi under Mahua Acharya, Director for Asia. The India team works directly with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on renewable energy, electric mobility, forestry and green finance policy, and currently manages a USD 10 million fund supporting decentralised solar energy in the country.

Headquarters: San Francisco, California

Major Areas of Work

• Renewable energy and electric mobility: CPI India works on policy and finance solutions for solar, wind and electric vehicle adoption, including management of a USD 10 million decentralised solar energy fund.
• Green and sustainable finance: Sensitising India’s financial sector to green finance through research and advisory work, including publications on how domestic financial institutions can better assess and fund green projects.
• Forestry and land use: Supporting forest and land use policy design as part of India’s broader climate commitments.
• Climate finance tracking: Running tools such as the Global Landscape of Climate Finance dashboard and the Net Zero Finance Tracker, which assesses roughly 1,500 major financial institutions worldwide.
• Fiscal instrument design: Advising on tax and fiscal policy tools that can accelerate climate investment in India and other countries.

Major Initiatives & Programmes

• Distributed Renewable Energy Programs in India: CPI’s flagship India initiative, built with government partners MNRE and IREDA, focused on expanding decentralised and distributed solar energy access.
• Financial intermediary with Encourage Capital and KfW: A newer structure built in India to channel private and development finance into green energy projects.
• Accelerating Green Finance in India: A research series on sensitising India’s financial sector to green investment, produced by CPI’s India-based researchers.
• An Assessment of India’s Energy Choices: A four report series examining the future of renewable energy policy in India.
• The Landscape of Green Finance in India: An annual webinar and report tracking the state of green finance flows into the country.

Impact

CPI’s global tools, such as its Net Zero Finance Tracker covering about 1,500 major financial institutions and its Global Landscape of Climate Finance dashboard, are also the backbone of its India analysis, helping show where climate finance is and is not reaching one of the world’s largest renewable energy markets. In India specifically, CPI’s team manages a USD 10 million fund for decentralised solar energy and has built a new financial intermediary with Encourage Capital and KfW to channel further private capital into green energy. Globally, CPI’s tracking shows adaptation finance reaching USD 69 billion in 2024 and development bank members mobilising USD 1.5 trillion in green finance between 2019 and 2025, figures that give context to how much more capital India and other emerging economies still need to meet their climate goals.

Leadership

• Director, Asia (India Programme) – Mahua Acharya
• Global Managing Director – Barbara Buchner
• Founder – Thomas Heller

Climate Policy Initiative is an excellent fit for professionals passionate about climate finance, renewable energy policy and sustainable development, especially those interested in shaping how India finances its clean energy transition.