Dan Adler joins IBank as Deputy Director for Climate Finance
SACRAMENTO, Calif — The California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) has hired Dan Adler as its new Deputy Director for Climate Finance, as IBank continues expanding its role in addressing the climate crisis impacting California and its residents.
California has become a leader in aggressively fighting the climate crisis, and in keeping with the sense of urgency demonstrated by Governor Gavin Newsom’s nation-leading climate investments, IBank is integrating climate considerations into all of its programs as a leading priority.
“Creating and preserving jobs, reaching disadvantaged communities, and addressing climate change are all priorities for IBank,” said IBank Executive Director Scott Wu. “Dan is a long-standing, well-known expert at the intersections of clean-energy technology, policy, and finance, and his knowledge and experience will allow IBank to expand its offerings in climate finance and help the state drive toward its climate goals.”
In his new role, Adler will oversee IBank’s Climate Catalyst Fund, which was developed under his strategic direction. Climate Catalyst aims to jumpstart critical climate solutions through flexible, low-cost credit and credit support, with an initial focus on projects that reduce wildfire threats through forest biomass management and utilization. The program has plans to expand to smart agriculture and beyond.
“IBank’s expansion into the financing of climate solutions adds critical new tools to California’s world-leading strategy,” Adler said. “Engaging the capital markets at scale is one of the keys to climate sustainability, and the role of debt markets has been under-addressed. Leading with public capital can help California’s policy makers deliver equitable outcomes across all the types of infrastructure we’ll need. It’s been a privilege for me to help shape the Climate Catalyst program, in close partnership with leaders across the Newsom administration, and I’m honored to be stepping into this leadership role.”
IBank also offers climate financing in the form of green infrastructure loans and green bonds, and through its Climate Tech initiative, which issues loan guarantees for new climate technology businesses, providing access to financing needed to deploy clean-energy and environmental solutions.
Adler brings more than 12 years of climate finance experience and expertise to IBank, and an additional decade promoting climate and clean energy solutions via philanthropy and the public sector.
Prior to joining IBank Adler was Senior Fellow at the Coalition for Green Capital, the nation’s leading platform for the creation of green banks to address the climate crisis, and vice president for policy at the Energy Foundation, a partnership of grant makers advancing clean energy markets across the U.S. He was previously managing director of the California Clean Energy Fund and president of CalCEF Ventures, where he led the firm’s efforts to identify and catalyze transformational new investment theses across venture capital and project finance. He has served as senior analyst in the Division of Strategic Planning at the California Public Utilities Commission, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard and was senior staff for climate policy, and on the boards of the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Coalition for Green Capital, and the Vote Solar Initiative.
Adler has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University.
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