Green Finance

"The Tunisian banking sector is able to play a role in the transition to a green economy," said yesterday the director of studies and economic and environmental analyzes to the Department of Environment, Monia Braham.The banks' contribution to green growth is, according to the official, to fund moreenvironmental projects.

In Tunisia, banks (29 banks, 8 offshore), which provide nearly 90% of lending to the economy, favor funds that offer the best compensation / risk, namely loans to housingand consumption.To familiarize the Tunisian bankers with the concept of Green Banking (financeecological projects), a training session of two days was held yesterday in Tunis. 35 bank officials and representatives of insurance and environmental institutions took part.

This is, according to its organizers (Ministry of Environment, UNEP / MAP, entertainment activities Regional Centre for Cleaner Production (RAC / CP), a message for Tunisian banks, known today , to build capacity to assess the risks involved in environmental projects, to meet their social and environmental responsibilities and to build portfolios forgreen projects.

Indeed, Tunisian banks can contribute, according to participants in this training, green jobs and SMEs specialized in cleaning and improving the living environment and urban design.Projects like this are, so far, supported Tunisia by specific funds and environmentaloriented structures (ANME, National Fund for Energy Management, Fund for Abatement (FODEP) and Focrédit).

To increase the share of project funding so-called "clean", "we must first establish a framework for companies to work on a better consideration of the environment," said Ms.Magali Outters, expert of the Centre "RAC / CP. "Taking part in this training, Ms. Nouha Zerriâa, financial analyst in a private merchant bank, acknowledged that in Tunisia, "few environmental projects are presented to banks for financing." "Everything is a matter of culture," said she."Today, the environmental culture is gaining ground in the country," she said, "whichrequires banks to some consideration of this new situation and a commitment to the environment."

According to Basma, project manager at the Bank STUSID, Tunisian-Saudi Company forInvestment and Development, "the reluctance of banks to finance the environment is due,primarily, by the very high cost of green projects" ."Some developers have already deposited with our bank records of projects to fund onphotovoltaic energy, gas cars, but the cost was prohibitive, we have a threshold is not exceeded," she said.

The green economy is, according to Unep (United Nations Program for Environment),"an economy that took shape in the context of a multiple crisis, environmental, economic and social."In its latest report, Unep says that to go to the green economy, we must invest 2% of GDP per year by 2050 in 10 key sectors (agriculture, construction, energy, fisheries,forestry, manufacturing, tourism , transport, water and waste management).

-Derbali Amal-

Posted in: All econimics