By Fabiana Negrin Ochoa

BlackRock Inc. has raised $673 million for a fund focusing on what it says is an overlooked area of climate finance: emerging markets.

The fund-raising, which exceeded a $500 million target, came from a group of 22 public and private-sector investors, the asset manager said Tuesday. The consortium included the governments of France, Germany and Japan, philanthropic institutions and intuitional investors, such as Mizuho Bank, MUFG Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

BlackRock itself committed $20 million to the vehicle, called the Climate Finance Partnership, which has a blended finance structure that seeks to insulate institutional investors from risk.

"This innovative structure, in which each dollar of catalytic funding from public development banks and philanthropy has attracted four dollars of institutional capital, shows the power of public-private innovation in driving clean energy in emerging Asia, Latin America and Africa," said Philippe Hildebrand, vice-chairman of BlackRock.

The CFP will target investments in non-OECD countries in Asia, South America and Africa--regions that are poised to account for an increasing share of global emissions as they develop, but are drawing only a fraction of the investment needed to transition to a net-zero economy. The BlackRock Investment Institute calculates that $1 trillion a year is needed for low-carbon projects in developing countries, while just $150 billion was invested last year--excluding China.

The CFP will focus on climate infrastructure sector, such as grid-connected renewable power generation, energy storage and electrified transport.

Write to Fabiana Negrin Ochoa at fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-02-21 0502ET