Tag: climate finance

Bhupender Yadav, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

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Climate finance will be the focus of the upcoming United Nations 26th conference of parties (COP 26) to be held in the UK and attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Friday.

In an interaction with the media ahead of the international climate conference to be held from October 31 to November 12 in Glasgow, the minister said it is yet to be determined which country will get how much financial support to combat the global climate challenge.

There are many issues which will be on the table but the most vital will be to remind the developed nations to deliver on their promise of USD 100 billion per year to the developing countries, he said.

Yadav said Modi will attend the conference, but did not confirm the date of his visit.

At the United Nations Climate Summit in Copenhagen in 2009, the developed nations had pledged to provide USD 100 billion a year to the developing nations to help mitigate climate change. It is yet to be delivered. The amount has now accumulated to over USD one trillion since 2009.

Elaborating on the issue, Environment Secretary R P Gupta said that the amount to be received by India is yet to be ascertained.

He also said that besides fulfilment of climate funding, India expects the developed nations to compensate for the loss and damage expenditure borne by the country due to climate change and global warming as the developed world is responsible for it.

“The severity and the frequency of floods and cyclones have increased and it is because of climate change. The 1.5-degree Celsius temperature rise globally has happened because of the developed nations and their historical emissions. There should be compensation for us.

“The developed nations must bear the expenditure of the damage because they are somewhere responsible for it,” Gupta said, adding that India is hopeful of a good outcome at the COP 26.

India’s per capita carbon emissions per year is 1.96 tons which is way below China and USA which account for 8.4 tons and 18.6 tons emissions respectively, Gupta said, adding that “we are suffering because of developed nations.”

The world’s average per capita emission per year is 6.64 tons.

Under the Paris Agreement, India has three quantifiable nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which include lowering the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35 per cent compared to 2005 levels by 2030; increase total cumulative electricity generation from fossil free energy sources to 40 per cent by 2030 and create additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tons through additional forest and tree cover. PTI AG SMN SMN



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CDC Group invests USD 70 mn in first dedicated climate finance fund, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Personal Finance

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Mumbai, The CDC Group, Britain’s official development finance institution and impact investor, has invested USD 70 million into the Green Growth Equity Fund (GGEF), the country’s first dedicated climate change fund. The fund is managed by EverSource Capital, a joint venture between the private equity fund Everstone Group and Lightsource BP, British Petroleum‘s renewable energy platform.

The GGEF already has strong climate credentials and within its portfolio has many investments such as Radiance, a renewable energy solutions for commercial and industrial customers; the e-mobility platform Greencell Mobility; the utility-scale renewable energy platform Ayana; integrated waste management platform EverEnviro; and wastewater management platform Kathari, the CDC Group said in a statement on Friday.

With the CDC investment, the green fund will finance the development of 6-8 green infrastructure companies here.

The GGEF is different from many funds as it follows a platform model, which mean that it sets up a firm from scratch in an interested sector and then grows the platform by making acquisitions.

By consolidating lots of smaller companies with similar business models under one roof, the platform can achieve both operational efficiencies and scale, which is key to improving profitability and building size to attract a buyer.

The GGEF, as a pioneer in the green infrastructure space in the country, will hopefully play a catalytic effect by proving that investors can earn returns while directly contributing to climate objectives.

“This investment in GGEF will consolidate our role in India as a staunch supporter of the country’s low carbon future,” said Srini Nagarajan, the managing director and head of Asia at CDC Group.

Dhanpal Jhaveri, chief executive of EverSource Capital, and vice-chairman of the Everstone Group, said, his group is committed to bringing positive climate impact by catalyzing capital for and investing in high growth platforms and businesses.

Last month, CDC announced an ambition to invest up to USD 1 billion in climate funding to India over the next five years ending FY’26. The commitment will fund climate mitigating projects and businesses here and enhance national efforts to align with the Paris agreement.

Over the past four years, CDC has invested over USD 1 billion in climate finance across Africa and South Asia.

CDC already has a USD 2 billion portfolio in the country. PTI BEN MKJ



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What is sustainable finance, and how has it been faring?, BFSI News, ET BFSI

Banking & Finance

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-By Ishwari Chavan

Conventionally, investors have evaluated their performance and made decisions solely on financial measures and have neglected environmental and social impacts that come along with it.

Sustainable finance gained interest from the mid-2010s, especially after the Paris Climate Protection Agreement, 2015. In the agreement, 195 countries, including India, have committed to drive economic growth in a climate-friendly manner and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, along with the associated opportunities and risks, are becoming more relevant for financial institutions. A common way to opt for sustainable finance is by investing in segments such as energy generation, which include solar photovoltaics, on and offshore wind, hydropower and broader energy services.

Here’s a rundown of all that you need to know.

What is sustainable finance?

Sustainable finance includes making business or investment decisions that take into consideration not only financial returns but also environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors.

Sustainable finance is defined as supporting economic growth while reducing pressures on the environment and taking into account social and corporate governance aspects, such as inequality, human rights, management structures and executive remuneration. Environmental considerations, including climate mitigation and adaptation, conservation of biodiversity and circular economy, are under its bandwidth.

One of the key objectives of sustainable finance is to improve economic efficiency on a long-term basis.

What does sustainable finance include?

Operational and labelling standards

1. Green labelled financial securities, products and services

2. Social-labelled financial securities, products and services

3. Sustainability- labelled financial securities, products and services

4. Unlabelled multilateral development banks financing of sustainability oriented projects

Industry oriented frameworks

1. Inclusion of ESG considerations in investment decisions

2. Sustainable and responsible investment (SRI)

3. Impact finance and impact investing

4. Equator principles-aligned projects

Wider Policy framework

1. Sustainable development goals-aligned finance (SDG Finance)

2. Principles of positive impact finance-aligned investments

3. Principles for responsible banking-aligned finance

4. Paris agreement-aligned finance

5. Climate Finance and Green Finance

6. Government sustainability related spending programmes

What is sustainable finance, and how has it been faring?
How has sustainable finance fared around the world so far?

According to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, at the start of 2020, global sustainable investment reached $35.3 trillion in five major markets – US, Canada, Japan, Australasia and Europe – reporting a 15% increase in the past two years (2018-2020).
What is sustainable finance, and how has it been faring?Source: Global Sustainable Investment Alliance

Sustainable investment assets under management make up 35.9% of total assets under management, up from 33.4% in 2018.

What is sustainable finance, and how has it been faring?Sustainable investing assets by strategy & region 2020 (Source: Global Sustainable Investment Alliance)

Sustainable investment assets continue to grow in most regions, with Canada experiencing the largest increase in absolute terms over the past two years (48%), followed by the US (42%), Japan (34%) and Australasia (25%) from 2018 to 2020.

What is sustainable finance, and how has it been faring?Global growth of sustainable investing strategies 2016-2020 (Source: Global Sustainable Investment Alliance)

According to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, at the start of 2020, global sustainable investment reached $35.3 trillion in five major markets – US, Canada, Japan, Australasia and Europe – reporting a 15% increase in the past two years (2018-2020).



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