Protecting the global climate – KfW expands climate finance in India

• Financing for green energy corridors reaches EUR 1 billion ahead of schedule
• EUR 110 million for German-Indian initiative for sustainable urban development
• EUR 15 million for sustainable forest management in the Himalayan region

Closely related to the governmental negotiations between Germany and India, KfW – acting on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – today made new financing packages in the amount of EUR 137 million available for renewable energy, sustainable urban development, environmental protection and resource conservation. The funds are to assist India in its struggle with climate change.

“With our climate financing in India, we are doubling the added value. We are fighting climate change while simultaneously creating new opportunities for millions of poor people – for example by providing access to clean energy, affordable public transportation or employment in rural areas", stated Professor Joachim Nagel, member of the Executive Board of KfW Group.

With the strategic large-scale project Green Energy Corridors, Germany and India entered into a strategic partnership in 2013 to address the Indian energy transition, in order to fund special power lines for connecting large solar and wind farms to India's power grid. Financing in the amount of EUR 1 billion has been committed for this purpose over a period of five years. With the signing of the current loan agreement for EUR 12 million for green energy corridors in the state of Maharashtra, the financing target has now been reached significantly ahead of schedule. In light of this major success, the Federal Government has committed additional funds of EUR 400 million for a second phase.

With Germany and India's initiative for sustainable urban development, which was established in 2017, Germany is supporting Indian cities in the sustainable and environmentally-friendly expansion of their public infrastructure. This includes, for example, investments in environmentally-friendly mobility, modern sewage treatment plants and urban planning. This is because almost no other country in the world is experiencing such large-scale migration to urban areas, where the infrastructure is already completely overloaded. With the financing agreements that have now been signed, KfW has made over EUR 110 million available for investments in cities within the states of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

Despite speedy economic development and urbanisation, two thirds of the population of India live in rural areas and make their living primarily from agriculture. This puts significant pressure on the country's natural resources. Furthermore, the population in these areas is particularly affected by the effects of climate change. A KfW programme for sustainable forest management in the Himalayan region helps to resolve both problems. The first part of the programme has just started in the state of Manipur with a financing package in the amount of EUR 15 million.

Find out more at
www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de and www.kfw.de/stories/cop23-spezial-klimawandel.