Banks pledge to ramp up green investments

The commitment was made at an industry conference Turkey, organised by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

Participating institutions – from regional lenders to global banks – have endorsed a declaration promising to further engage in financing energy efficiency. They also pledged to further integrate energy efficiency finance into their operations, guide clients towards enhanced energy saving and to track investment in the sector.

The institutions (scroll down for the full list) also said they were willing to intensify their cooperation with development institutions, like the EBRD and UNEP FI, in financing measures which tackle climate change.

EBRD managing director for energy efficiency and climate change Josué Tanaka said: “Investing in energy efficiency makes economic sense and the current financing gap represents a huge business opportunity.

“The financial sector is uniquely placed to channel finance to energy-saving opportunities and address the current investment gap. Our aim is to make sure the financial community can tap into this potential by forging links with the most up-to-date expertise and technology.”

Important tool

Energy efficiency has been recognised as one of the most economically effective means of combatting climate change. The International Energy Agency claims that more than 40% of the emissions reductions required to limit global warring to 2C will have to come from energy efficiency improvements,

However, the financing needed to achieve these measures is currently not available. According to the Global Tracking Framework, energy efficiency investment needs to increase four-fold from current levels, simply to meet already-pledged efficiency targets.

UNEP FI acting head Eric Usher said: “Mobilising the private finance sector to tackle the investment gap means working with financial institutions not only to address their internal barriers but also involving policy-makers in an open dialogue on how external barriers can be overcome.”

The collective pledge will be welcome news for the UK green economy, after investor confidence has dipped to new lows following successive Government subsidy cuts.

Brad Allen