At the time of the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 it was estimated that over the next 15 years the world would need to spend some US$75-90 trillion in various forms of infrastructure, including investments in energy efficiency and renewable primary energy. Managing a successful transition to a renewable energy economy is vital for the future of the planet; without major mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions global temperatures will be on a rapidly ascending trajectory and the associated damage to the global economy and its supporting ecosystems and to the natural world will be unprecedented. Frank Van Gansbeke discusses innovative proposals to use existing instruments and institutions to facilitate that process, including reforming the global financial system established at the tail end of World War II, also known as the Bretton Woods system.