The first cycle of the Climate Financing Accelerator ends with seven Colombian projects that contribute to the mitigation and adaptation of climate change and opens the doors to the second cycle in 2023
The Climate Financing Accelerator in Colombia held the event Accelerating Climate Financing in Colombia on November 10th in the auditorium of the Bank of Bogotá. During the event, the British Government, government actors, financial institutions and the seven projects selected for the first cohort of the Accelerator, showed and presented the benefits and opportunities of climate financing for the country.
In the first operational cycle of the Accelerator, 83 projects were presented, of which only seven were chosen with clear climate contributions: Autobuses AGA de Colombia S.A.S aims to build a manufacturing and assembly line for battery-powered electric buses, with headquarters in Duitama, Boyacá , contributing to the transition towards electric mobility in the country; Caldas Hydroelectric Power Plant – CHEC is a geothermal project in the Nereidas Valley that seeks to generate energy through the hot fluids of the Earth’s crust in the Nevado del Ruíz volcanic massif; Cooperativa Colanta, which is in charge of distributing 26% of the milk in Colombia, aims to move towards regenerative livestock models; Geofuturo S.A.S seeks to develop an alternative fuel material formulated from unusable solid waste; Soluna Energía S.A.S.; E.S.P. wants to install single-family solar systems in 3,000 homes in the Colombian Orinoquía to guarantee access to quality energy service 24/7 at an affordable cost; SYMA Consultores y Constructores S.A.S. BIC seeks the construction of 1,000 comprehensive habitat solutions with sustainability criteria in southwest Antioquia, aligned with the needs raised in public housing policy and the 2030 Agenda; and finally, Unergy S.A.S. aims to install 16 mini solar farms with a capacity of 1 MW each in different rural towns in the country.
These seven projects had cycles of group and personalized mentoring during the last months, in which various financial and sector experts from the allied financial institutions supported the development of the financial models, term sheet, one pager, pitch and social inclusion model and gender (GESI). During the closing event held last Thursday, the proponents made the pitch that they have been working on throughout the Accelerator process, showing the results that the acceleration had on the structure of their projects.
The opening lines were given by the president of the Bank of Bogotá who stated that: “The Bank is totally committed to fighting climate change, we believe that it is fundamental for the future development of Colombia and as a banking entity we want to offer you all our support not only in the analyses of the projects, but in future financing of them.”
The event was attended by the Vice Minister of Environmental Policies and Standardization of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Sandra Vilardy, who noted that “this is a decisive week for climate change due to COP27. An event like today’s shows that serious things can be done and that therein lies the possibility to further deepen existing efforts. Being the second most biodiverse country constitutes an additional responsibility. Biodiversity is the source of wealth creation. Nature must be seen not as a flow of raw materials, but as the tool that allows us to balance the climate.”
Likewise, Tim Hemmings, Deputy Head of Mission of the United Kingdom Embassy in
Colombia, stressed that the Accelerator “is important for the fight against climate change, butIt’s also good for the economy. The future of finance is green. It is impossible to avoid it.
Finally, Jorge Iván González, Director of the National Planning Department, gave a presentation on the importance of climate financing in Colombia in which he insisted that Colombia’s main problem is the planning of the territory and called to “ruralize urban consciousness” and that “as we think about alternative mechanisms of financing ―because we must put them all together―, the income generated by urban dynamics must be resources that contribute to climate transformation […] How do we ensure that from the cities we understand that without plains, without rivers, we simply cannot live?
In 2023, the Climate Financing Accelerator expects to receive and accelerate other key projects for the mitigation and adaptation to climate change. To learn more, follow the link below:
The Climate Finance Accelerator has the support of the United Kingdom Government and the National Government