Standard Chartered is planning to provide US$40bn of project financing services for infrastructure to promote sustainable development and US$35bn of project financing services, M&A advisory and debt structuring services for renewables and cleantech projects by 2024
Sunil Kaushal, regional CEO for Standard Chartered, Africa and the Middle East, said, “It is estimated that emerging markets need an annual US$2.5 trillion investment to meet the SDG targets by 2030.”
“A bulk of this investment will need to be focused on Africa and the Middle East, which is home to some of the major sustainable development opportunities. The financing gap in Arab countries has been estimated to be more than US$100bn annually, while in Africa this figure stands between US$500bn and US$1.2 trillion,” Kaushal added.
According to Kaushal, for the goals to be met by 2030, investors and banks need to coordinate and connect capital to promote sustainable development.
Additionally, Standard Chartered intends to reduce its emissions across its global properties by 2030. The bank is set to achieve net-zero emissions by sourcing energy from renewable sources and continuing to pursue energy efficiency measures across its 12mn million sq feet of property.
Tracey McDermott, group head, corporate affairs, brand and marketing, commented, “Over the past 18 months, we have made a series of commitments which are all geared towards supporting the Paris Agreement on climate change and the transition to a cleaner, greener, fairer economy.”
“Africa and Middle East region is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies, though we also face some of the world’s most pressing environmental and social issues. Our ability to solve for the issues here will have a tremendous impact on our 2030 ambition to meet global SDGs,” Kaushal added.
