Transition finance is going to be key for India to reach its net zero goals, particularly in the electricity, transportation, industry, and land use sectors. Transition Finance is the provision and use of financial products and services to support counterparties, such as companies, sovereigns, and individuals, realise alignment with environmental and social sustainability (Caldecott, 2020). 

The India Transition Finance Programme (ITFP) seeks to provide best practice research and capacity building to support the adoption and use of high-quality transition finance in India. The programme is based at the University of Oxford Sustainable Finance Group (OxSFG) and is defining aspects of transition finance for Indian financial institutions, companies, policymakers, and regulators.

The ITFP works closely with Indian policymakers and regulators and provides expert knowledge to build an ecosystem that can better: (a) accelerate the shift in financial intermediation provided by banks and capital markets towards transition finance, (b) support the Indian financial system be more resilient to increased climate-related financial risks, and (c) enable a just transition to a low-carbon economy in India. 

While the ITFP covers all areas of transition finance related to India, so far we have focused on climate-related financial risks and the cost of capital, in synergy with the Environmental Stress Testing and Scenarios (ESTS) and the Energy Transition Risk and Cost of Capital (ETRC) projects, respectively.  We are also starting to focus on climate transition plans, in synergy with the Net Zero Transition Plans (NZTP) project.