This Tuesday, leaders of the financial industry gathered at Club 50, in Las Condes, to participate in the event “Business opportunities linked to the development of Green Hydrogen (H2V) projects for the financial sector in Chile”, organized by the financial initiative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP FI), Finis Terrae University, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and Fundación Chile, with the collaboration of the Chilean Hydrogen Association -H2 Chile-, País Circular and Diario Sustentable. The meeting was organized to generate a strategic dialogue between Chilean financial institutions and other actors in the renewable hydrogen industry and, thus, identify concrete actions that bring these institutions closer to projects related to Green Hydrogen, a key emerging sector for the transition to a more sustainable economy. During the event, the representative in Chile and coordinator of the Academy of Principles of Responsible Banking of UNEP FI, Carolina Lopez, highlighted the importance of the participation of the financial system in the financing of projects that promote the development of this industry and said that “through a proactive participation in the financing of H2V projects, financial institutions could obtain different advantages such as investing in clean technologies, thus contributing to climate change mitigation, in addition to diversify their loan portfolio to reduce their exposure to highly polluting industries, and attract customers and companies committed to sustainability”. Meanwhile, the director of Green Hydrogen Investments of Fundación Chile, Andrés Labbé, noted that according to the National Green Hydrogen Strategy in the country is projected to 2050 an accumulated investment reaching 330,000 million dollars and said that “Fundación Chile seeks to establish early links between projects and potential financiers to promote the sustainable advancement of this industry”. “Although there has been progress at the local level, other countries are moving faster than us, so we have to be more agile. The invitation to the financial sector is to be attentive and willing to evaluate projects early and to incorporate an innovative look at how to finance them,” said Labbé. Meanwhile, the dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business of the Finis Terrae University, Cristina Hube, expressed the need to adapt the financial management model to capitalize on opportunities in Green Hydrogen and strengthen the resilience of communities against environmental and climate risks: “We know that limiting global warming by 2050 will require about 13 trillion euros of private investment in hydrogen and capture, and in carbon utilization and storage. “While the technologies are essential solutions for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize, we have yet to mobilize the financing tools necessary for them to scale up at the speed we require. This investment represents a significant business opportunity for banks, which will need to adapt their management model to capitalize on them and create competitive advantages in the industry,” said Hube.