New Delhi, Aug 8 (TIWN) The months of May, June and July gave a fierce glimpse of the natural disasters - cyclones on east and west coast, excess rainfall, floods and cloudbursts - that reigned havoc in India and are set to increase in frequency and intensity in years to come.

Loss of infrastructure apart from loss of lives and livestock is a major setback after every such disaster. For instance, several areas of Konkan that witnessed huge floods in July were without power for many days as the entire power department infrastructure suffered massive damage. Several metres/kilometres of roads were washed away when the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand witnessed landslides and cloudbursts recently.  A crucial report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday is likely to paint an even dismal scenario with a warning to not just take mitigative steps but also increase adaptation. Therefore, it becomes crucial to understand what is at stake for the financial sector in India. Will India's finance sector witness an increased understanding of and a push for integrating climate risk in the existing set up of financial institutions?  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been talking about green finance for many years and has taken various steps towards it. It has pushed, on the lines of corporate social responsibility for private companies, the concept of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles into financing aspects. But April 2021 saw an important development vis-a-vis climate finance.  The RBI joined the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) in April 2021. The NGFS, launched in December 2017 at the Paris One Planet Summit, is a group of central banks and supervisors from across the globe to share the best practices and contribute to the development of the environment and climate risk management in the financial sector. It is an institutional yet voluntarily membership. It will also help mobilize mainstream finance to support the transition toward a sustainable economy.