Blended finance and private sector participation crucial for Maharashtra’s climate agenda

Mumbai: As Maharashtra aims to become India’s first trillion-dollar economy by 2027-28 while also pursuing the country's net-zero carbon emissions target by 2070, there is a need to explore financing options beyond traditional government or public sources.

Private investment and innovative financial tools like blended finance are being considered key drivers for climate action funding.

These issues took center stage at a major workshop held by the State Climate Action Cell (SCAC) in collaboration with WRI India on Friday.

The workshop, themed ‘Climate Finance Access and Mobilisation Strategy for Maharashtra (2024-30),’ marked a significant step in crafting a comprehensive Resource Mobilisation Strategy (RMS) to meet the state’s ambitious climate goals.

Talking about a few climate-resilient strategies for Maharashtra, Praveen Pardeshi, CEO of the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), said, “The agricultural sector can gradually transition toward solar energy as many banking institutions are interested in extending credit facilities for this purpose. Enhancing public transport in cities and creating nature-based solutions are a few other strategies. Moreover, there is a need to ensure public consensus for such strategies and projects.”

Addressing the gathering virtually, 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 about the need for mobilizing climate finance 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, CEO, WRI India, said, "WRI India is supporting the State Climate Action Cell in designing the Climate Finance Access and Mobilization Strategy for Maharashtra. Operationalisation of RMS in Maharashtra will require developing sector-specific strategies and bankable projects. Pooled finance facilities with sectoral focus will need to be developed in the state to mobilise climate finance.”

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.”