World Bank Group arm IFC sees US$20 trillion worth of green investment opportunities in India, Asia-Pacific
- IFC’s climate related investments accounted for 36 per cent out of the US$23.3 billion invested in 74 countries in fiscal 2018 – an all-time high
International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organisation of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group, is set on climate related investments, with US$20 trillion worth of opportunities in Asia-Pacific and India by 2030.
According to the IFC, 60 per cent of the area expected to be urban worldwide by 2030 is yet to be built, as emerging countries develop and migration to cities heightens. This will provide opportunities for US$29.4 trillion of climate-related investments in sectors from renewable energy to electric vehicles, of which nearly 70 per cent will be in East Asia, the Pacific and India.
“The whole sustainable investment space has now demonstrated it is a profitable business, so this is where we think it makes sense to put capital to work,” said Vivek Pathak, IFC’s regional director for East Asia and the Pacific.
IFC focuses on investment in sectors like renewable energy, agriculture, green buildings, electric transport and water management.
For the year ending June 2018, a record 36 per cent of IFC’s US$23.3 billion investments made in 74 countries were in green projects. In East Asia and the Pacific, China took the largest chunk of US$3.4 billion.