On Tuesday, San Francisco District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder will introduce a resolution urging city leaders to explore funding opportunities for a Green Bank — a public, nonprofit financial institution designed to accelerate investment in clean energy and affordable housing.
Unlike grant programs, green banks are public banks that use financing, meaning capital is expected to be repaid, allowing each dollar to be deployed repeatedly, according to the nonprofit Coalition for Green Capital, which focuses on accelerating the clean energy transition.
“A green bank is how we take our money back from Wall Street and reinvest it into housing, clean energy, and small businesses right here at home, and I hope to see widespread support for it on the Board of Supervisors,” Fielder said in a statement.
In 2019, the state of California passed Assembly Bill 857 to provide a pathway for local government agencies to start public banks. The San Francisco Reinvestment Working Group, a group of community and labor organizations advocating for a public bank, was created the following year by the board of supervisors, according to the group’s website.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said green banks are used by state and local policymakers to deploy a combination of public and private financial services to fund projects that are not sufficiently met by other financial markets. In some cases, green banks can offer subsidized loans at interest rates lower than typical market offerings.
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