Government of Goa and Power Finance Corporation come together to pioneer subnational Blended Finance Facility for Climate Action
MoU
signing ceremony was held in Goa in the presence of Chief Minister of Goa, Dr
Pramod Sawant; along with CMD, PFC, Parminder Chopra; Director (Projects), PFC,
Rajiv Ranjan Jha, and other officials from Government of Goa, The World Bank,
SIDBI and NABARD
Power Finance
Corporation (PFC), leading
NBFC, power sector PSU and the largest renewable energy financier in India, has
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the climate ambitions of
the state of Goa. The support extended would be under the Blended Finance
Facility being set up by Government of Goa in partnership with The World Bank. The Government of Goa is setting up the
sub-national Blended Finance Facility in partnership with the World Bank,
aiming to foster low-carbon, climate-resilient development.
Under the MoU, PFC will
utilize innovative blended finance mechanisms to fund key climate projects such
as renewable energy, green hydrogen, electric vehicles, waste-to-wealth
technology and nature-based solutions, thus contributing to Energy Transition.
The Government of Goa will facilitate the successful implementation of the
facility by identifying and developing a pipeline of climate projects, and
promoting policy decisions and facilitating stakeholder collaboration to take
those projects forward. PFC and the Government of Goa will pool resources and
expertise, aiming to advance sustainable development. The agreement thus
pioneers blended financing facility in India and seeks to attract private
sector investment in climate initiatives, thus contributing to India's
ambitious net-zero goals.
The agreement has been
signed at the two-day India Climate and
Development Partners’ Meet in Goa today, February 20, 2024, in
the presence of the Chief Minister of Goa, Dr Pramod Sawant.
Speaking about the MoU,
CMD, PFC, Parminder Chopra said: “India is committed to achieving
'Panchamrit' and Net Zero emissions by 2070; and PFC is going to play a pivotal
role in aligning with the government's commitment to Net Zero, through this
milestone initiative in the area of blended financing for achieving energy transition.”
The collaboration between
PFC and the Government of Goa marks a historic milestone in green financing,
under which PFC will lend its financial expertise to drive climate initiatives
and catalyse energy transition through emerging technologies. The initiative is
an innovative partnership between Government of Goa and the World Bank on the
one hand and leading financial institutions PFC, SIDBI and NABARD on the other,
to finance climate action priorities.
Also read:
· Blended Finance
Facility (BFF)
· What You Need to
Know About Concessional Finance for Climate Action