By Naki B. Mendoza for Devex.

With the landmark Paris climate agreement now a month-old and the holiday cheer for its accomplishment a bit more subdued, an earnest debate is fully underway over how to live up to the promises of the accords.

A central piece of the puzzle is the issue of funding. If 2015 and the buildup to COP21 were all about reaching an agreement, the mission of 2016 and its subsequent years is to come up with reliable sources of finance to put the plan into action.

“The private sector” is often the knee-jerk, panacea solution to the problem of insufficient public funds to keep global temperatures in check. But the question then becomes how to entice private capital to take up a large stake in climate finance. And how to ensure some certainty of return that is commensurate with boosting inclusive growth and sustainable development — core pillars of the 2030 Development Agenda that climate action forms a part of.