RBI Dy Governor pitches for global unity, tech transfer to tackle climate change

RBI Deputy Governor M Rajeshwar Rao has called for enhanced global cooperation , including technology transfer and R&D funding, to deal with challenges posed by the climate change.

Stressing that no country could achieve net-zero in isolation, he said climate change was the quintessential global challenge and so the response. Rao was speaking at the Conference on Green Infrastructure Finance at College of Agriculture Banking, RBI here recently. “There is a requirement of enhanced global cooperation in this regard which must also extend to technology transfer, R&D funding, and skills development to enable development of technical expertise to identify, design, and structure bankable sustainable and green infrastructure projects,” he said. The Reserve Bank posted his speech on its website on Friday. The Deputy Governor said the focus needed to shift from project-based finance to overall market development with policy reforms, development of a project pipeline, and consistent regulatory frameworks, creating systemic conditions for fostering sustainable and green infrastructure finance.

The senior RBI official also made a case for an adequate mix of public and private funding where the public funds crowd in the private funds through appropriate incentive structure.