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POLICY AND REGULATORY REFORMS IN THE AFI NETWORK 2021
INCLUSIVE GREEN FINANCE In 2021, six member institutions reported implementing inclusive green financerelated policy changes. In total, seven member institutions developed and implemented IGF-related policy changes since the inception of the AFI inclusive green finance workstream, which is partially funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), as a part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI). HIGHLIGHTS
6
reforms reported by 6 member institutions in 2021
POLICY TRENDS
11
Since 2018, 7 member institutions reported 11 IGF-related policy changes
Superintendencia de la Economía Popular y Solidaria de Ecuador and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have issued guidelines on Environment and Social Risk Management (ESRM), which address both environmental and social risks into the risk management of the credit portfolio. These guidelines not only serve as a powerful tool to properly manage environmental risks by improving the overall quality of their credit portfolio, but also give the financial institutions that promote them a reputation for being part of a solution to climate change. Similarly, they serve to promote innovative solutions that generate new businesses to incorporate green finance within the financial sector. The ESRM guidelines shape the P for “prevention” of the AFI IGF 4P framework.
Sustainable finance guidelines
Increasingly, members also embedded elements of Inclusive Green Finance across policies and regulations they developed and implemented. For example, Bangladesh Bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Banco Central de São Tomé e Príncipe incorporated Inclusive Green Finance in their recent National Financial Inclusion Strategies. Additionally, the Reserve Bank of Fiji undertook its national demand-side survey which focuses on women and their resilience to climate change.
Agriculture worker holding a plant with soil and roots in a greenhouse. Mexico. (aldomurillo/iStock)
