Putting Climate at the Heart of IFC Infrastructure Business

In the run-up to the 2022 IFC Sustainability Exchange — an annual gathering of prominent global voices in the sustainable infrastructure space — we shine a spotlight on Katherine Koh , Global Climate Lead for IFC Infrastructure . Katherine has built her career across the worlds of investment, social impact, and sustainability. She considers the transition to a low-carbon and resilient global economy — and the need for climate-smart infrastructure solutions — among the most urgent and important issues of our time.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I was born and raised in South Korea during a time of remarkable development, as globalization enabled the country’s transformation into a major economy. But in late 1997, the Asian financial crisis hit Korea hard. Within a few weeks, Korea’s credit ratings got downgraded, the exchange rates skyrocketed, the country’s foreign-currency-denominated debts ballooned, and bankruptcies and job losses were everywhere.

Did this influence your career choices?

I was in college, and witnessing this painful transformation was a watershed moment. I originally intended to pursue a career in linguistics or psychology, but my interests were redirected to addressing global challenges. I spent college breaks traveling to other countries to teach underprivileged children in rural villages. This opened my eyes to the disparity in people’s living conditions. I felt compelled to pursue a career in international development to help reduce such disparities and give people opportunities to improve their lives.

What did that career trajectory look like for you?

My career started at McKinsey as a strategy consultant advising major social sector organizations as well as Fortune 500 companies. It’s where I discovered my passion for using my business and finance skills for impact-driven purposes. Following concurrent Harvard MBA and MPA programs and an investment banking stint at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong, I joined IFC in 2010 as an investment officer. My time with IFC’s infrastructure team across Asia, Europe, and Central Asia has been full of rewarding projects.

The IFC infrastructure team also spearheads climate-smart infrastructure. Can you tell us more about what that means exactly?

It means designing, building, and managing infrastructure assets so they align with and contribute to countries’ decarbonization, climate adaptation, and resilience goals. Our renewable energy , battery storage, electric vehicles & mass transits , sustainable water & waste management, and green buildings projects are great examples of climate-smart infrastructure. Being climate-smart also means proactively assessing, managing, and mitigating climate risks throughout the asset lifecycle. At IFC, we have started screening all infrastructure financing projects for climate risks. If adaptation is needed, we can provide financing. For example, our loan to ISZU , a Turkish municipal water client, supports climate adaptation through improved water treatment. We also advise clients on decarbonizing their business portfolio and managing the social aspects of climate change and transitions.

What has been your focus as Global Climate Lead for IFC Infra?

This role was created because we are bringing climate into the center of all IFC business. My focus thus far has been on building a foundation to steer our climate business to this next level — developing a cross-sectoral, cross-regional approach, increasing climate awareness and knowledge, advocating for climate actions and opportunities, putting in place processes and coordinating mechanisms, promoting best practices, and collaborating with other industry departments. Mobilizing the wider IFC & WBG ?community and building effective collaboration models are key. Climate should not be the specialty of a few people — it needs to be everyone’s agenda.

At a personal level, why are you drawn to the climate agenda?

I have two young children. Having kids forces you to think about the next generation’s challenges…about how to leave a better world.

My children are learning about climate and the Sustainable Development Goals in school. They ask questions that are hard to answer and make me more determined to take action. About a year ago, my daughter said, “My teacher said we only have seven years to turn the climate around.” And then she asked, “Does that mean if we don’t, we will all die soon thereafter?” To her generation, climate change is an existential issue.

IFC is supporting some of the most innovative climate projects. Can you give us a peek at some innovations?

The IFC Asia team supports a large district cooling utility to develop over 100,000 refrigeration tons of district cooling projects. Cooling is such a need in tropical countries, and district cooling offers a clean, cost-effective, and scalable way to deliver air conditioning to multiple buildings.

In Africa and Latin America, we are financing the rollout of public electric buses. In Europe, we are providing financing and advice to an electric waste recycling company. Globally, we are scaling mini-grids — small renewable power systems that can reach areas unconnected to existing power grids — and developing battery storage, offshore wind, and hydrogen projects. And we are working on incorporating renewable energy and energy efficiency into data centers and other technology, media, and telecommunications infrastructure. Making carbon credits, nature-based solutions, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) work for investors and financiers in emerging markets is also high up on our work priorities. ?

We provide Green, Blue, and Sustainable Finance products to our clients, as a great way to add our value and incentivize companies to start their net-zero journey and accelerate their climate actions. It’s all very exciting!

What else do you enjoy about working in Global Infrastructure?

The people. The complexity of the challenges. The opportunity to make an impact at the global level by working with our fantastic, diverse teams and our clients across the globe. And — in this new role — connecting clients and IFC regional and sector teams with global, corporate-level knowledge, perspectives, and solutions.

What do you do to unplug and relax?

Pre-COVID, I traveled a lot. Now, I read books and listen to music. My children have gotten into singing, so family karaoke night is our new favorite activity. “Roar ” by Katy Perry is my daughter’s favorite, and my son loves “What Else Can I Do ” from Encanto .?But, they don’t necessarily wait for karaoke night and sing “We don’t talk about Bruno no no no...” all day long. I suspect that many parents reading this can relate!?

Related links:

IFC’s Sustainability Exchange 2022 – REGISTER TODAY!

IFC Global Infrastructure

Sustainable Finance in Infrastructure

IFC Climate Business

6 Women Changing the Way Business Confronts Climate Challenges

Next frontiers for climate business? 5 experts’ views