India Can Mobilize USD 543 Billion for Climate Investments by 2030

Mumbai, Nov 29 (PTI) The country can mobilize as much as USD 543 billion from retail investors for climate investments by 2030, while the global potential for the same is a whopping USD 3.4 trillion, says a report.

A Standard Chartered Bank report on sustainable banking, is based on investor interest from a survey of 1,800 respondents in 10 growth markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

According to the survey, of the USD 543 billion investible retail capital that can be mobilized in the country, USD 324 billion could flow into mitigation themes such as energy efficiency, renewables and energy storage, while USD 219 billion could be pumped in for adaptation including resilient infrastructure, biodiversity and food systems.

The survey shows 96 per cent of investors in the country are interested in climate investing -- the highest among all markets surveyed, and 84 per cent of them want to increase capital flows towards climate investments.

Though these investors are motivated by making a positive impact and personal values when making such investments, they also say that multiple barriers are holding them back from translating their interest into investment.

The respondents cited accessibility (76 per cent), comparability (75 per cent), comprehensibility (73 per cent) and comparability (74 per cent), as major barriers.

According to Marc Van de Walle, global head of wealth management at the bank, overall climate mitigation and adaptation face an annual funding gap of trillions of dollars.

To overcome the current disconnect between investor interest and the scale of climate investments, the industry needs to improve access to solutions, harmonise reporting standards and measurement of impact.

According to Saurabh Jain, head of wealth management at Standard Chartered India, climate change is a key challenge for the country given its frequent extreme weather events, growing population and increasing urbanization, highlighting the need to bring rapid focus into building climate-resilient infrastructure and staying on course to achieve the country's net-zero targets.