Citing that there are no alternatives to sustainable financing, speakers at a training session urged the management of commercial banks to shift their focus towards green investments immediately.
GIZ Bangladesh organised the Sustainable finance training programme for 30 bankers of Rajshahi, so they support the mobilization of climate and environment-friendly investment from the private sector.
The training titled "Sustainable Finance for Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities" was jointly arranged by the Sustainable Finance Department (SFD), Bangladesh Bank and GIZ BD at Royal Raj Hotel, Rajshahi recently.
The Improved Coordination of International Climate Finance (ICICF) project, implemented by GIZ Bangladesh, on behalf of the German Federal Government, is partnering with SFD to organise a series of training on sustainable finance in five out of eight divisions of Bangladesh.
Titled "Sustainable Finance for Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities for the Private Sector", the bankers and private sector participants engaged in in-depth discussions with Bangladesh Bank officials on how to easily access the low-cost funding options for sustainable businesses and initiatives.
Md. Rajab Ali, Director, Sustainable Finance Department, Bangladesh Bank inaugurated the training programme while Dr Firdaus Ara Hussain, Principal Advisor, ICICF Project, welcomed the participants at the event.
Technical sessions of the training were conducted by Amitabh Chakraborty- Additional Director, Rabeya Khandaker, Additional Director, Md. Abu Rayhan- Joint Director, from the SFD of Bangladesh Bank.
The programme was moderated by Prof. Dr S M Ahsan Habib, Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM).
Ali in his speech said, “There are no alternatives to sustainable financing now. So, senior management of commercial banks must shift their focus towards green investments immediately”
In her opening speech, Dr Firdaus Ara emphasized the importance of accessing additional climate finance from external sources due to the increasing effect of climate change on the country. Bangladesh’s internal resources will not be enough to meet the increasing demand for finance for mitigating the effects of climate change.
S M Mahbub Alam, Joint Secretary, ERD, Ministry of Finance was also present at the event. He discussed the issue of climate change in Bangladesh and stressed upon the importance of climate action for sustaining socioeconomic development in the country. Jagannath Chandra Ghosh, the Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank’s Rajshahi office attended the event as Chief Guest and distributed certificates among the participants of the training.
