Bengal chief secy stresses financial support for green transition at climate change workshop

Kolkata, Jan 16 (PTI) West Bengal chief secretary Manoj Pant on Thursday said tackling climate change is not only an environmental agenda but also a development priority that requires more financial resources.

Pant was addressing a workshop on 'Financing India’s Green Transition Plan and Adaptation Needs,' organised by the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change under the ongoing 'Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme' here.

Pant said today, access to climate finance is limited by challenges like institutional capacity, lack of viable projects, and no standard methods to include climate concerns into development planning.

"Therefore, the focus must be on scaling investments in ecosystem-based approaches, promoting climate-resilient agriculture," he advocated.

The top state official further highlighted the "importance of community engagement in climate change efforts and the need to collaborate and create decentralised, context-specific funding models." "To accomplish this, it is vital to help states and local institutes to strengthen the capacity to prepare robust funding proposals, such as those required by the Green Climate Fund (GCF)," he observed.

Rajasree Ray, economic advisor, department of economic affairs and handling matters relating to climate change finance and sustainable development, said in her address that to achieve "low carbon and climate-resilient growth, India requires concerted efforts, a cohesive approach involving all stakeholders, policymakers, regulators, and the financial system." She also mentioned that there should be a concerted approach around taxonomy (system for naming and organising things, especially plants and animals into groups), adopting green guidelines as well as defining the roles of private and public sector and bankers and asset managers.

Ray pointed out that global climate-resilient development pathways depend on how climate risks are addressed and requisite adaptation measures are taken up.

The workshop also focussed on the imminent need to increase investment in climate adaptation techniques.

The inaugural session was also attended by Bandhan Group chairman Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, deputy resident representative, United Nations Development Programme, Isabelle Tschan Harada, chairman, Indian Chamber of Commerce and chief sustainability officer, Aditya Birla Group, Dr Naresh Tyagi. PTI SUS MNB

Source: PTI