Pan European Carbon Bank to fund Hilshaw Group Smart City projects in Kazakhstan

The Pan European Carbon Bank has announced its fund allocation towards two of seven Smart City Projects recently awarded to Hilshaw Group.

The decision came following a successful due diligence process for the Smart Cities in Almaty & Nur Sultan while similar projects in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Albania, and Podgorica - Montenegro are under review and consideration.

The initial tranche of €450 million from PECB to Hilshaw is through forward commitments of Carbon Offsets to PECB predominantly from the aviation sector and is being directed to first 86 hectare phase of the Nur Sultan project.

Domiciled in St Petersburg, The Pan European Carbon Bank (PECB) is a Carbon Credit issuance fund directed towards the development of Smart Green Cities, Carbon Neutral Environments, and Earth Friendly Technologies.

In line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, PECB has Carbon Offset commitments approximating between $500 billion and $1 trillion of finance and investments by 2050 to help transition to a net-zero carbon economy and help build a thriving, resilient future for society and businesses.

With experienced partners and teams aimed at achieving greater cross-sector collaboration and innovation to tackle our cities' climate challenges, PECB aims to accelerate decarbonization through the use of new technologies. PECB also funds the development of green technologies in Series 1 and 2 stages.

Carbon Credits are a concept of any tradable certificate that gives the bearer the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent greenhouse gas. Carbon credits and carbon markets are a part of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases. One carbon credit is generally equal to one ton of carbon dioxide. Carbon trading is a process of emissions trading with the goal is to encourage low emissions or less carbon-intensive approaches than those used when there is no cost to emitting carbon dioxide. The sales of these carbon credits to commercial entities willing to lower their carbon footprint will be used to fund and develop the projects further and introduce more such projects globally by the formed 'The Pan European Green Bank.'

Hilshaw Group is a multi-family office and change management investment advisory. The company primarily invests in low supply and finite assets and opportunities. The company has allocated $175 million towards UAE real estate, specifically towards the facilitation of the Remote Work Visa program to help mitigate the global post-pandemic work culture. The group has also been appointed as the exclusive advisor and financial consultant for the $7 billion 'Green Smart City' in Nairobi, Kenya. The project was recently marked as 'An Initiative of National Importance' by the Country's Ministry of Lands & Physical Planning.

In 2015, 191 countries became signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels through regulated emissions cut targets by each country. However, as of July 30, 2021, 81 of the 191 signatories failed to submit their CO2 reduction targets suggesting non-compliance to the agreement. Amongst the several causes of the 81 signatories falling back on their mandate are the lack of Public Buy-in, limited accessibility to funding, and unavailability of sustainable initiatives and concepts. PECB operates with a clear mandate to remedy such future defaults.

"Reducing individual and corporate carbon footprints and eliminating greenhouse gas emissions is no longer optional but a dire need shared by the entire planet. PECB helps direct all sustainability efforts into environmentally and commercially viable projects. Our scope aims to address the situation holistically through the development of sustainable Smart Green Cities across the world. Hilshaw Group is a capable and diligent partner, and we are pleased with their vision and hence a part of it," said Artem Rogalev, executive director, Pan European Carbon Bank.

"It is a pleasure to have PECB back our vision of a more sustainable future for our future generations. While it has always been a part of our corporate ethos, our future roadmap is based on responsible business and projects that clearly serve the betterment of the planet and its people. Now with a like-minded entity like PECB on our side, we can dream bigger, work smarter, and progress faster. We thank Pan European Carbon Bank for sharing our vision and are committed to delivering beyond all expectations," said Lal Bhatia, chairman, Hilshaw Group.

business@khaleejtimes.com