KCB Bank Kenya has secured a Sh18billion loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) that will boost the lender’s support for businesses that address climate change.
Through the partnership, IFC will support KCB to develop a climate finance strategy and build the lender’s capacity for climate risk assessment and reporting.
KCB Group Chief Executive Officer Paul Russo noted that the bank’s business is not just about making profits but it also has a role in ensuring the environment is taken care of for posterity through playing its role in climate mitigation and adaptation in Kenya.
“KCB is stepping in to help businesses curtail the adverse impacts of climate change, thus boosting economic growth, food security and job creation in Kenya and building resilience,” said Russo.
By the year 2030, the Government of Kenya is committed to ensuring greenhouse gas emissions in the country is reduced by 32 per cent by integrating climate change adaptation at both the national and county levels of government as the country is vulnerable to climate change that might further worsen the current rising food insecurity and drought.
IFC Country Manager for Kenya Amena Arif on his part emphasized the need for the private sector to mobilize financial resources to help the country transition to green energy as frequent occurrences of droughts and floods affect the livelihoods of many Kenyans which further affect the economic development of the country.
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“Our partnership with KCB Bank Kenya will increase access to climate finance in the country and enable the development of more green projects that support Kenya to respond to the effects of climate change and shift to a greener development model,” said Arif.
A 2019 IFC report estimated that Nairobi has an $8.5 billion climate investment opportunity for the period 2018 to 2030—$5 billion of which lies in electric vehicles and the rest in public transport, green buildings, water, renewable energy, and waste.
The loan by IFC is part of its work in Kenya to increase the amount of climate financing available as it is committed to growing its climate-related investments worldwide by working with different financial institutions to fund projects that support climate mitigation and adaptation.
SOURCE: Capital business
