Must mobilise green funds for projects, says SBI chairman

Mumbai: State Bank of India is looking to mobilise green finance from institutional and retail investors to fund its commitments to green projects. “There is a need to mobilise domestic and international flows from retail as well as institutional investors to meet the green finance needs, and robust climate-focused frameworks backed by central regulations,” said Dinesh Khara, the SBI chairman at ‘Climate Finance and Risk’ seminar in New Delhi. chairman of SBI.According to Khara, although India ranks seventh among the world’s most affected by climate change, a relatively small share (around 7%) of climate capital flows into India. Vivek Joshi, secretary of Department of Financial Services, said the financial sector was well positioned to incite behavioural change in corporates and contribute towards a sustainable society.Earlier this month, Khara had said SBI would incorporate environmental considerations into its lending framework as part of its pursuit of sustainable banking practices. The bank aims to accommodate environment-induced financial risks within its overall risk management strategy for FY24. Incorporating the green agenda into lending would require the bank to reduce the share of fossil fuel projects it finances and even increase the share of lending to renewable energy projects.
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