PANJIM: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday stated that Goa is now more confident to achieve its climate goals after setting up a Blended Finance Facility in the State in partnership with the World Bank.
Sawant made this statement in the presence of Environment Minister Aleixo Sequeira during the signing of Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) between Department of Environment and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and Power Finance Corporation (PFC), wherein the Blended Finance facility was announced at inaugural session of ‘India Climate and Development Partners’ Meet’, an annual conference of thought leaders and changemakers in the climate sector, organised by World Bank and the State government at Panjim.
This will be first-of-its-kind, climate-focused, multi-sectoral facility at a sub-national level that will enable Goa to access and mobilise concessional finance to implement low-carbon and climate-resilient investments. Blended finance inclusive of public, private, international, and domestic climate finance has the potential to help Goa and other coastal States in India build greater resilience to the impacts of a rapidly warming climate.
Sawant said, “Resilience is a crucial aspect of our vision for a Santulit (balanced) Goa that bridges economy and ecology and balances our aspirations for the health of our ecosystems and the development and wellbeing of our people. This Blended Finance Facility will enable us to embed and operationalise greater resilience in our planning, investments, and infrastructure. We look forward to empowering our communities with the new technologies and business models that will be crucial in our response to climate change.”
Sawant said that Goa will become first State to receive funds under Blended Finance Facility from the World Bank.
