• During the official launching of the program in Peru, at ALIDE headquarters, green financing was said to represent a major business opportunity for private banks and for the public development banking system.

November 16, 2018.- Inasmuch as the demand for products to mitigate climate change can be seen to be rising, green financing represents a key area of business for institutions in the private and public financial sectors, with a concentration for the most part in areas like energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources.

“The large size of the investment needed means that the flow of capital must be increased. However, commercial banks and private investors frequently lack experience in the area of green technology and solutions,” pointed out Stefan Herzberg, German Ambassador to Peru, at the official launching of the “Green Banking Program” organized by Renewables Academy (Renac) and ALIDE on Thursday, November 15.

“Last year, in Peru, the Ministry of the Environment (Minam) and the Peruvian Banking Association (Asbanc) signed the green protocol for the Peruvian financial system, in order to further the green economy. Germany wishes to support that strategy via Renac and its role in the Green Banking Program,” he went on to add.

Occupying the head table, as well, were Jorge Montesinos, Head of ALIDE’s Training and Cooperation program; Laura Secada, Minam Director of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation; Claudia Espinoza, Ministry of Energy and Mines (Minem) Energy Efficiency Coordinator; Volker Jaensch and Cecilia Strandberg, Renac Project Director and Project Manager; and Carlos Serrano, from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The key aim of this program is to support both development and public finance institutions, as well as those operating in the private sector, in creating new lines of business to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and make use of internationally available climate financing instruments.

Scholarships and different types of training will be offered, together with network and experience sharing events for professionals in Peru and also in other Latin American and Caribbean countries. In Peru’s case, strategic aspects of Peruvian public policy on climate change and adaptation will be presented beforehand and as part of Minam’s Let’s Hold Talks in the Financial Sector.

Green Banking in the region
Renac, after having conducted the program in Southeast Asia, is getting ready to expand its operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, initially up until the year 2022. To that end, it has established strategic alliances with ALIDE, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), the Latin American Banking Federation (Felaban) and other actors. The program is financed by Germany’s International Climate Initiative (ICI) with the support of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

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About ALIDE
ALIDE is the community of financial institutions that generates banking solutions for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean. The activities that it promotes and carries out seek the cohesion and strengthening of the action and participation of financial institutions in the economic and social development process in the region. ALIDE encourages regional integration and financial cooperation with other regions of the world to achieve the mobilization of resources and technology for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean.