A new book by Dr. Hilmar Þór Hilmarsson Professor at the School of Business and Science University of Akureyri has been published New York this fall 2016

The book discusses how international financial institutions (e.g. the World Bank Group and Regional Development Banks) can facilitate increased investment in clean energy projects in developing and emerging market countries. In the coming years and decades most increase in the demand for energy is likely to be in those countries. Clean energy sources are also mostly located in developing and emerging economies. Investment in clean energy is often capital intensive, including for geothermal and hydropower projects, and with long repayment periods.Risk in developing and emerging countries, including political risk, is often high and international financial institutions can promote increased investment in cooperation with the private and the public sector with loans and grants, but more effectively with insurance and guarantee instruments, that they have been hesitant to utilize. In spite of the threat of climate change, energy challenges and environmental degradation, international financial institutions have so far done little to invest in clean energy projects. The book includes comments from five reviewers from Iceland and also from emerging market economies including India, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine. Reviewer from Latvia is professor Ērika Šumilo, Head of the Department of International Economics and Business, University of Latvia. Hilmar have been cooperating with prof. Ērika Šumilo for many years under the Erasmus program and discussed the topic of the book with her students. See here review below. "In this book Professor Hilmarsson, a World Bank Group insider for 12 years, offers an interesting and well-informed analysis of international financial institutions (IFIs) and how they can help solve one of the world's greatest problems - the transition to clean energy. Too often IFIs' efforts are hampered by bureaucratic procedures that make them less effective and their clean energy portfolio in developing and emerging countries still remains small. In addition to funding and risk mitigation instruments, IFIs are particularly well placed to provide policy advice and technical assistance to governments implementing energy sector reform. This book is an important and timely contribution to the debate on clean energy and climate change." - Professor Ērika Šumilo, Faculty of Business, Management and Economics, University of Latvia. Hilmar wrote the book mostly while he was a Visiting Professor at Cornell University in the Fall 2015.