Green finance increasingly under the spotlight in Russia

A consultation paper titled ‘Green finance: the agenda for Russia’ has been presented by the Responsible Finance Taskforce, a unit within the Expert Council on Long-term Investments attached to the Bank of Russia.  The report summarises and analyses the prerequisites for Russia's fledgling market for green technologies, key initiatives in green finance and the challenges of building the necessary infrastructure and toolkit.

‘Ecology’, a national project, is currently underway in Russia, with ecological reforms being implemented across production sectors of the economy. This drives demand for projects aimed at advancing environmentally-friendly, lean and effective technologies. Environmental initiatives require substantial funding, which presupposes the use of multiple financial instruments including debt and equity finance. The consultation paper gives insights into global practices of funding environmental initiatives.