Addressing the occasion principally, Abhishek Acharya, Director, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), said, “We need more private sector participation in climate change adaptation activities. Innovative financial instruments can help gather more private sector participation in adaptation initiatives, which achieve profits as well.”
Speaking in regards to the demand for activating setting cash sources, Abhijit Ghorpade, Director of the SCAC, Maharashtra, said, “A chapter on climate finance has been introduced in the recently prepared State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) of Maharashtra, which will eventually culminate in the framing of a climate budget. In the year 2023-24, 11.95 per cent of the state budget was expended on climate actions, with plans to increase this annually by 5 per cent, so that by the end of 2030, 50 per cent of the budget is a climate budget. The plan entails that almost Rs 3 lakh crore is required as climate finance in the state for the period 2024-30. To pursue this, we are working on the Climate Finance Access and Mobilisation Strategy (2024-2030) with the support of WRI India.”
Madhav Pai, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, WRI India, said, “WRI India is sustaining the State Climate Action Cell in creating the Climate Finance Access and Mobilization Strategy forMaharashtra Operationalisation of RMS in Maharashtra will certainly call for creating sector-specific methods and bankable jobs. Pooled money centers with sectoral emphasis will certainly require to be established in the state to mobilise environment money.”
Ulka Kelkar, Executive Director of Climate, Economics & & Finance at WRI India, said, “Maharashtra is at the forefront of climate action, with its vibrant economy driving efforts to implement and finance climate initiatives. While the state’s climate finance needs and sources have been identified, gaps remain that must be addressed. This dialogue focuses on bridging that gap.”
