Mumbai, 28 August 2024: The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) is hosting its inaugural in-person event for financial institutions and industry leaders from across the Indian market – marking a significant milestone for the region’s financial sector. The event is being supported by Prosus, a global technology company focused on ecommerce.
The varied agenda covers topics ranging from tips on the measurement of GHG emissions to the challenges and obstacles the Indian market faces in measuring financed emissions – with keynote speeches from Shri Sunil T. S. Nair, Chief General Manager at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Shri Sunil Mehta, CEO, Indian Banks’ Association.
The event comes as regulation around climate finance in India begins to be developed. The RBI has begun assessing the impact of climate risks on financial stability and is considering introducing guidelines for climate-related financial disclosures. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) framework, which mandates the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalization to disclose comprehensive sustainability-related information With its latest consultation paper on ‘Expanding the Scope of Sustainable Finance in Indian Securities Market’, SEBI is poised to introduce crucial measures for enhancing the availability of capital for climate adaptation and mitigation
This growing regulatory momentum is just part of a wider shift in how Indian financial institutions are approaching climate finance, reflecting India's deepening commitment to transitioning towards a more sustainable and resilient economy. Part of this motivation is driven by ambitions of making the Indian economy more competitive across global capital markets by utilizing internationally recognized standards, including PCAF.
At the same time, PCAF’s presence in the market has continued to grow, with IDFC First Bank and Union Bank of India signing on as the latest signatories from India. The ESAF Small Finance Bank and Caspian Impact Investments have been signatories since 2019 and 2023 respectively. To further support the market, PCAF has recently announced its first accredited regional partnership in the Global South with with StepChange, India’s leading enterprise sustainability platform.
The PCAF Secretariat looks forward to welcoming more signatories from India in the coming months.
“Hosting our first in-person event in India marks a significant milestone in PCAF’s presence in the region. The Indian market is a vital part of the global economic eco system, so we are both delighted and proud to be supporting financial institutions in the market as they begin to implement GHG accounting journeys. At PCAF, we are committed to ensuring that the Standard is applicable and viable for markets in all parts of the world and we will be working with financial institutions in India and other parts of the Global South to ensure the methodology remains inclusive. It’s an honor to be joined by so many eminent speakers from the Indian financial sector and we hope this event will be the first of many, as more financial institutions in the market commit to measuring and disclosing their emissions in line with the PCAF Standard.” Angélica Afanador, Executive Director of PCAF
“Prosus joined the PCAF in 2022, participating both in the Africa and the Netherlands working groups. With our extensive presence in India through our investment portfolio, we are thrilled to support the work that PCAF will do in India going forward. We see growing interest in India’s financial institutions to understand and align with international standards around climate finance. PCAF can be instrumental in facilitating this progression.” Prajna Khanna, Global Head – Sustainability, Prosus
“We are honoured to partner with PCAF to accelerate the adoption of global carbon accounting standards in India’s financial sector. At StepChange, we believe that accurate and transparent emissions measurement is a crucial first step towards driving meaningful climate action. By supporting Indian financial institutions in their sustainability journey, we are collectively contributing to a more resilient and sustainable economy. This event marks a significant step forward, and we look forward to continuing our work to empower financial institutions to lead the way in climate finance”. Ankit Jain, Co-Founder & CEO, StepChange
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About PCAF
The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) was launched globally in September 2019. Currently, more than 510 financial institutions have joined the PCAF initiative. PCAF participants work together to jointly develop the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions related to their financial activities. By doing so, PCAF participants take an important step to assess climate-related risks, set targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and develop effective strategies to decarbonize our society.
