India Inc raises a record green capital of $19 billion in 2021

India Inc has raised a record USD 19 billion in green capital in 2021, led by Wall Street major Bank of America, which is only a fraction of the USD 1 trillion that global corporations raised in green financing in the year.

While corporate India raised USD 19 billion in green capital in 2021, Bank of America participated in USD 15.65 billion. Globally, the Wall Street major was part of a fourth of the USD 1-trillion green funding drive, helping mop up USD 250 billion, the bank said.

In the country, it was part of the eight deals/issuers worth USD 15.65 billion, which included loans, M&As, debt capital and equity capital market funding, it added.

It can be noted that BofA had in April 2021 set a target of helping mobilise USD 1.5 trillion in sustainable financing by 2030 and also announced its exit from funding carbon-based companies.

Comparative numbers are not available as the lender has not been categorising fund-raise differently.

The biggest domestic issuer was the USD 8-billion listing of ReNew Power in the US in February 2021, followed by SoftBank selling SB Energy's Renewable Power Portfolio to Adani Green Energy in May for USD 3 billion, TPG Rise Climate Fund's USD 1 billion investment in the passenger electric vehicle business of Tata Motors in October and Greenko Power raising USD 1 billion via Reg S bond sale in December.

The other deals included Pipe RMG Acquisition Corporation's USD 855 million Spac deal in August, chemicals leader UPL's USD 750 million sustainability linked loan in March, Axis Bank's USD 600 million Reg S perpetual bond sale in September, and Global Power Synergy's USD 450 million investment in Avaada Energy dated in July, BofA Securities in a statement said on Tuesday.

The bank also said it is accelerating the capital mobilisation and deployment plans as part of its USD 1.5 trillion sustainable finance target by 2030.

At USD 250 billion, this is an all-time high and a significant increase over 2020 levels. As part of our USD 1.5 trillion by 2030 sustainable finance goal announced last April, we have made tremendous progress towards mobilising and scaling capital deployment to drive environmental and social change in line with the UN's sustainable development goals, it said in a statement issued from its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina.

BofA's sustainable finance strategy permeates every aspect of how it delivers for its clients, employees and communities, and it is committed to a more inclusive, net-zero society for all. Its sustainable finance focus is long-standing and continues to play a catalytic role in scaling its environmental transition and inclusive social development goals across the globe, said Paul Donofrio, its vice-chair said.

Bank of America provides lending, capital raising, advisory and investment services, along with other financial and risk management solutions, for clients transitioning to a low-carbon, inclusive economy.

It also continues to drive inclusive social development with a focus on affordable housing, healthcare, education, digital and financial inclusion as well as more access to capital for minority and women-led businesses and underserved communities.

Of the USD 1.5 trillion set target, environmental transition and inclusive social development will see it helping deploy and mobilise USD 1 trillion by 2030, Karen Fang, the global head of sustainable finance at BofA said.

It has also set a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in financing activities, operations and supply chain before 2050.