IIM Lucknow, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub hosts roundtable on climate finance

NEW DELHI: The Centre for Business Sustainability (CBS) at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow collaborated with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to convene a roundtable discussion on “Climate Finance” on April 16 at the IIM Lucknow campus. The discussion aimed to explore climate-related issues faced by Indian financial institutions.

Discussions at the roundtable primarily focused on assessing the readiness of Indian financial institutions to address the impact of climate change and exploring strategies to leverage technology in navigating the challenges posed by climate change. The core session of the roundtable centred around the theme “Leveraging Technology for Navigating the Climate Challenge.”

As per the institute, over 20 national and international dignitaries attended the event. Attendees included representatives from State Bank of India, Axis Bank, and Federal Bank; non-banking financial companies like Tata Capital; Dalberg Advisors and Auctus ESG; Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW); Indian Credit Rating Agency (ICRA); MicroSave and Taru Consulting; multilateral development institutions like the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Oxford Sustainable Finance Initiative at the University of Oxford; and distinguished subject matter experts.

Also read IIT Patna, IIM Bodh Gaya enter into agreement for joint interdisciplinary degrees, research

Speaking about the event, the chief executive officer of RBIH, Rajesh Bansal, illustrated the significance of its ongoing project in contributing to the development of possible interventions for addressing climate-related challenges faced by Indian financial institutions and consumers.

During the second session, the programme coordinator at RBIH, Ranjeet Rane highlighted the critical role of unlocking data in climate risk assessment and illustrated the role of technology using blockchain technology as an example of understanding the verification claims of sustainability in the financial service industry.