Seventy banks from 20 countries, including global and national banks, gave their word to increase energy efficiency investments to combat climate change on Wednesday.
The financial institutions pledged to boost energy efficiency investments with a declaration ceremony during a two-day Istanbul conference, 'Building a Global Energy Efficiency Financing Alliance” organized by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
'Participating financial institutions in today’s conference have pledged to further integrate energy efficiency finance into their operations, guide clients towards enhanced energy savings and track investments in the sector,' the statement said.
Their announcement came ahead of the COP 21 Climate Conference, which will be held in Paris this December. The conference will gather countries in order to reach an agreement on actions to decrease greenhouse gas emissions in a bid to stop global warming.
According to International Energy Agency, energy efficiency plays an important role for the required reduction in gas emissions by 40 per cent. For this reduction, a commitment to decrease global temperature by two degrees by the end of 21st century will be targeted during the COP21 conference.
“Investing in energy efficiency makes economic sense and the current financing gap represents a huge business opportunity,' Josue Tanaka, managing director for Energy Efficiency and Climate Change at the EBRD, said in his speech at the event.
“The financial sector is uniquely placed to channel finance to energy-saving opportunities and address the current investment gap,' he added.
Energy efficiency investment needs to increase four-fold from current levels, while major economies have already pledged some $560 billion, according to the World Bank's Global Tracking Framework report.
EBRD has invested a total of €13 billion in energy efficiency both through direct deals and in partnership with commercial banks in the last decade.
By Furkan Naci Top and Gokhan Yildiz
Anadolu Agency
furkan.top@aa.com.tr