IIM Lucknow, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub Host Roundtable On Climate Finance

Indian Institute of Management Lucknow’s Centre for Business Sustainability (CBS), in collaboration with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), convened a roundtable discussion on 'Climate Finance' on 16 April at the IIM Lucknow campus under the aegis of RBIH’s ongoing project. The roundtable aimed to facilitate in-depth discussions on climate-related issues encountered by Indian financial institutions.

The roundtable brought together stakeholders from various sectors of the Indian climate finance ecosystem under one roof. Attendees included representatives from banks such as State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Federal Bank; non-banking financial companies like Tata Capital; global advisory firms like Dalberg Advisors and Auctus ESG; think tanks like Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW); Indian Credit Rating Agency (ICRA); global consulting firms like MicroSave and Taru Consulting; multilateral development institutions like the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Oxford Sustainable Finance Initiative at the University of Oxford and subject matter experts.

Discussions at the roundtable primarily focussed on assessing the readiness of Indian financial institutions to address the impact of climate change and exploring strategies to leverage technology in navigating the challenges posed by climate change.

In his keynote address, Rajesh Bansal, Chief Executive Officer, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub, illustrated the significance of its ongoing project in contributing to the development of possible interventions for addressing climate-related challenges faced by Indian financial institutions and consumers.

During his welcome address, Vikas Srivastava, Dean Programmes, IIM Lucknow, emphasised the critical role of financial institutions in internalising concerns for climate change from both mitigation and adaptation perspectives. He also moderated the first core session of the roundtable, focussing on the ‘Readiness of Indian Financial Institutions to Tackle the Impacts of Climate Change.’ Participants in this session deliberated on the complex challenges financial institutions face in assessing climate risks, implementing climate-related regulatory frameworks and scaling up green finance initiatives.

The core session of the roundtable centred around the theme ‘Leveraging Technology for Navigating the Climate Challenge.’ Moderated by Ranjeet Rane, Programme Coordinator, RBIH, participants discussed how technology can enable financial institutions to address climate risks and create customised solutions to adapt to and mitigate the risks associated with climate change.

During the second session, Rane highlighted the critical role of unlocking data in climate risk assessment and illustrated the role of technology using blockchain technology as an example of understanding the verification claims of sustainability in the financial service industry.

Kaushik Ranjan Bandyopadhyay, Chairperson, Centre for Business Sustainability, IIM Lucknow, emphasised the timeliness of the roundtable discussion amidst another record year of global warming in 2023.