Green Banking is now a focus area for Indian banks

Banks are increasingly realizing that protecting environment and promoting green initiatives are crucial as lending or accepting deposits:

The World Bank has recently announced a $1.5 billion funding for India in its efforts to develop energy from low carbon sources. The World Bank expects India to promote the development of a vibrant market for green hydrogen, continue to scale up renewable energy and stimulate finance for low-carbon energy investments.

With India being the fastest-growing large economy in the world, and the economy expected to continue to expand at a rapid pace, the World Bank feels that decoupling economic growth from emissions growth will require scaling up renewable energy, especially in hard-to-abate industrial sectors. This effort would need a faster development of climate finance to boost the mobilization of finance for low-carbon investments.

GREEN, KEY TO BANKING

Many environmental experts are of the view that since economic growth is majorly influenced by the banking industry, green banking is a crucial factor that can help banks gain a competitive edge. Green banking is defined as a proactive technique of conserving energy and protecting the environment. Its primary aim is to protect the environment for future generations, minimize paperwork and concentrate on electronic transactions, which not only contribute to sustainability, but they also give convenience to both clients and banks. Green banking is essentially the promotion of environmentally friendly practices and the reduction of the banking sector's carbon footprint.

The main target is the improvement in the conservation of the earth's environment, habitats and resources.

Green banking constitutes initiatives by the concerned banks that support environmentally sustainable investing. Green banking is growing rapidly as a viable alternative to regular banking, particularly when the long-term availability of fossil fuels as a source of energy is doubtful.