President of the BNDES defended that the climate agenda should be led by public banks and criticized the lack of commitment from rich countries
The president of BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), Aloizio Mercadante, said this Thursday (24.Aug.2023) that Brazilian public banks should lead the process of energy transition and combating climate change. According to him, the change will not come from the market, which would be “always thinking in the short term and immediate return”. He made the statement at a meeting to resume the National Fund on Climate Change.
“I see no alternative to face the severity of the climate crisis if public banks do not take the lead in this process of boosting the energy transition. This will not come from the market, which is always thinking about the short term and immediate return. Public banks have to induce and build a partnership with the markets to be able to leverage the resources necessary for this gigantic confrontation”defended.
Mercadante, in a speech in line with that of the president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT), also criticized the fact that rich countries have not fulfilled promises regarding emission reduction targets. “That didn’t happen, and the money that maybe came in ended up going to the pandemic, then post-pandemic reconstruction and now it’s 160 billion dollars in the Ukraine war and our resources are not coming in”he declared.
The president of the state bank also defended that Brazil has all the conditions to lead the agenda of combating climate change, being the 1st country to decarbonize and to commit to the promises made.
Climate Fund
The Climate Fund is a program linked to the Ministry of the Environment that aims to guarantee resources to support projects, studies and financing of enterprises that intend to combat climate change.
In July, Mercadante announced that the Fund would have an increase of R$ 620 million starting in the 2nd semester. The amount is coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to “electric bus projects, green hydrogen, wind energy, solar energy, ethanol”.
According to him, the fund currently has around R$ 7 billion in assets.
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