Tamil Nadu sets up Green Climate Fund of Rs 1,000 crore

In a first of its kind initiative in the country, the Tamil Nadu government has set up a Green Climate Fund of Rs 1,000 crore which will mobilise resources from various sources to support various climate change initiatives, mitigation and greening projects.

By contributing Rs 100 crores, the state government has become the first sponsor for the Tamil Nadu Green Climate Fund (TNGCF). It has also a green shoe option for another Rs 1,000 crore.

To be managed by the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation, TNGCF will be created through various financial instruments like equity, equity-linked instruments, debentures, convertible instruments etc with a tenure of ten years, extendable by up to two years.

The fund will be used to invest in electric vehicles and hybrids, climate-friendly products and alternatives, pollution control technologies and products, renewable and green energy, conservation and development of forest including ecotourism, waste management, sustainable agriculture, and water resource management.

TNGCF will be set up as a Category I (Social Venture Fund) under the SEBI Alternative Investment Fund Regulations, 2012, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), said.

The setting up of an exclusive fund for Green Climate comes close on the heels of the state government announcing Tamil Nadu Green Mission, Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission and the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission as part of its massive plans to protect the environment.

The government is integrating climate concerns of the state in development plans at the grass root level to climate-proof districts and villages, Sahu said, adding that Climate Change Missions have been set up in all 38 districts in the state,

“Efforts are being taken by the State to draft plans that are not merely mitigating but which will also pave the way for the transformation of economy underpinning affordability, sustainability and scalability” as the key elements,” Sahu added.

Creating bio-shields in coastal areas in the state through nature based solutions by planting mangroves, palmyra trees and other appropriate plant species are some of the objectives of the Climate Change Mission. The government is also transforming Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex as Carbon Neutral Market and making 25 schools completely green.

In the past few months, the state government had declared reserve forests encompassing an area of 686.406 square kilometres in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts as Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary and announced an exclusive project to protect and conserve Nilgiri Tahr, Tamil Nadu’s state animal.