Moscow, March 18, 2021 — Elena Borisenko, Deputy Chairwoman of the Gazprombank Management Board, took part in the second meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group on the development of investment activities and extrabudgetary-resource mobilization for sustainable development projects. The event, which took place under the chairmanship of Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Government of Moscow, VEB.RF, Rosatom SC and other large companies, agencies and the expert community. At the meeting, Gazprombank was also represented by Natalya Tretyak, Secretary of the Council for the Introduction of Sustainable Development Principles.
Participants discussed the issue of attracting investments for green and transitional projects, further plans for the establishment of already-developed ESG-project taxonomies and the shaping of new ones, requirements for project verifiers, model-verification methodology and recommended practices for regulating the process of having an instrument recognized as green or transitional.
The Ministry of Economic Development extended the list of industries in which projects can be considered green. The list now includes energy, eco-tourism, hydrogen- and gas-engine transport, forest and climate or agricultural projects, transport infrastructure projects, as well as projects aimed at the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
“These lines of work are recognized as green in other countries as well – essentially, we have adapted global standards to the Russian realities. Such a solution will make it possible to increase the level of trust in the system being created on the part of foreign investors from countries where the green-bond mechanism is already well developed and sought-after,” emphasized Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development.
Within the framework of the meeting, Gazprombank presented ESG projects being implemented with a total of more than RUB 600 bn in capital expenditures. In particular, the Bank’s portfolio includes a project targeting renewable (wind and solar) power in Russia totaling over RUB 100 bn in terms of financing with a capacity of more than 1 GW. At the same time, over 60% of all national renewable-energy projects are implemented with the Bank’s credit support. Gazprombank serves not only as a financial partner, but also as an investor for some renewable-energy projects. In addition, the Bank takes part in the financing of SMW-treatment projects and projects involving the development of transport infrastructure that help to reduce the level of pollution caused by carbon emissions.
“Russian banks are interested in the advancement of sustainable development in both the humanitarian and economic dimensions, as ESG factors will definitely emerge as part of our risk profile in the near future. The faster and better we manage to arrange our work with customers — the participants of economic turnover, the better the effect for the entire Russian economy will be,” noted Elena Borisenko.