Brazil Climate Fund can grow threefold: Bndes

Demand for Brazil's Climate Fund is three times larger than the R10.4bn ($2.02bn) it currently holds, the president of the country's development bank Bndes said on Thursday.

"We have a growing demand [for the fund]", president Aloizio Mercadante said during an event held by Rio de Janeiro state's industries federation. "We will perhaps expand the fund, because demand is already three times greater than what we have."

Mercadante called on industries and entrepreneurs to present "good, bold projects."

The Climate Fund is linked to Brazil's environment ministry and managed by Bndes. It was created in 2009 and uses resources from oil and natural gas exploration to mitigate and combat climate change.

By Lucas Parolin