European countries to fund green projects in Kerala

KOCHI: France, Germany and the European Union (EU) have filed a detailed plan to fund more eco-friendly projects in Kerala in the coming years to support the city in protecting the environment. Emmanuel Lenain, French Ambassador to India; Walter J Lindner, German Ambassador to India, and Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of EU to India, were on a joint visit to Kochi. The visit marked the fifth anniversary of Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Lenain said that they will select the most innovative, environmentally green and gender-oriented projects to work towards mobility and transportation to curb carbon emission. Astuto added, “We will support eco-friendly projects in all of Kerala and not only in Kochi. EU, with the co-operation of Germany and France, will discuss and decide the projects.”

Astuto said that EU has already finalized on the financial package for supporting the projects in which 30 per cent is only for those projects which will directly address environmental issues. He also added that these eco-friendly projects will become the real drivers of growth and sustainable employment generation. The ambassadors reviewed the work of Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) on Water Metro project financed by Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW), a German Investment Bank. Lindner pointed out that Kochi is a big city and should have an integrated transport system with last mile connectivity.