The World Bank has approved $1.5 billion in financing to accelerate India’s development of low-carbon energy.
The financing will help India promote low-carbon energy by scaling up renewable energy, developing green hydrogen, and stimulating climate finance for low-carbon energy investments. The First Low-Carbon Energy Programmatic Development Policy Operation – the first in a series of two envisaged operations – will support India in developing green hydrogen. To implement India’s energy transition, public sector funding alone will not be sufficient. This financing will help stimulate private financing and provide support by addressing viability funding gaps, reducing off-taker risks, boosting grid integration of renewables, and stimulating demand for renewable energy. The $1.44 billion loan is from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and is facilitated by a United Kingdom $1 billion backstop aimed at boosting the World Bank’s climate change financing to India. A $56.57 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) is from a recommitment of cancelled IDA credit balances.