ECA GBAC Newsletter – April 2022

Transportation accounts for 23 percent of global energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Replacing vehicles powered by internal combustion engines with electric ones (EVs) helps significantly lower GHG emissions and reduce air pollution in urban areas. EVs have already become competitive alternatives throughout the transportation sector, providing solutions ranging from e-bikes to passenger cars and delivery trucks. These trends create for the financial institutions an opportunity to develop specialized loan products for consumers purchasing electric vehicles, as well as to finance the development of charging services and infrastructure. Read more

Seven banks from Europe and Central Asia participated in the spring cohorts of the Executive Online Training Program on Green, Social, and Sustainability (GSS) Bonds delivered by IFC’s Green Bond Technical Assistance Program (GB-TAP) in partnership with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).

During the three-week in-depth course executives from Armenia’s Ameriabank, Poland’s Millenium Bank, Turkey’s Akbank, Yapi Kredi, Odeabank, Isbank, and Uzbekistan’s Hamkorbank gained insight on GSS bonds issuance process and the underlying drivers in sustainable finance. The training program is designed specifically for banks from emerging markets and is offered free of charge to emerging market banks that have been vetted and selected by IFC.

For more information, please visit the program website. If interested to apply, please contact Oleg Bardyak obardyak@ifc.org

In the first synthetic risk transfer (SRT) in emerging markets with a climate risk mitigation objective, IFC will help Santander Bank Polska S.A. (SPL) scale up its green lending and support Poland’s climate goals. IFC will provide an up to $120 million-equivalent second-loss guarantee on credit losses that might be experienced in a $730 million-equivalent portfolio of consumer loans on the balance sheet of SPL. SPL will deploy capital freed up as a result of the IFC loss protection to undertake at least $600 million-equivalent of new green lending. Read more

The Government of Uzbekistan has set the ambitious goal of generating at least a quarter of its power from renewables by 2026. IFC is providing investment and advice to help the country modernize the energy sector and reach its climate targets. In a short video Stephanie von Friedeburg, IFC’s Senior Vice President for Operations talks about how IFC’s investments are helping Uzbekistan scale up renewable energy as she visits country’s first solar park built with IFC support. Watch the video

Serbia is on the path to a green transition and the private sector is playing a crucial role in public-private partnerships to help create more jobs. Opportunities exist in a wide range of sectors, including climate-smart agriculture, urban infrastructure, and renewable energy. Ary Naïm, IFC’s Regional Manager for Central and Southeast Europe spoke at the Kopaonik Business Forum on how the private sector can be engaged for green transition. Read more (in Serbian)

The ocean economy is expected to double to $3 trillion by 2030. But climate change has put the health of the ocean at risk. Innovative financing solutions like blue bonds and blue loans are key to the sustainability of the ocean.

Join us on June 1 for an online discussion to learn about the global and regional trends in the new emerging sector of blue finance.

Register for the event

INNOVATE4CLIMATE (I4C), hosted by the World Bank Group, is an annual global conference on climate finance, climate investment and climate markets. I4C brings together thought leaders interested in linking climate innovation with investment opportunities – transforming dialogue into action. I4C 2022 will be held virtually on May 24-26. The event’s program includes high-level plenaries and workshops that provide a forum for practitioners to demonstrate how to achieve a resilient and low-carbon future and space where public and private sector organizations showcase their climate action initiatives and engage with participants. For more information, visit conference website.

The Green Bond Handbook, developed at the initiative of the IFC Green Bond Technical Assistance Program (GB-TAP), is a practical guidance for financial institutions in emerging markets on how to prepare and execute a successful green bond issue. The Handbook has been compiled by market practitioners with deep practical experience of working with issuers and investors and will be updated periodically to reflect innovation in practice in the Green Bond market.  Download the publication

• It’s Over for Fossil Fuels: IPCC Spells Out What’s Needed to Avert Climate Disaster (The Guardian)
• Global Sustainable Bond Issuance Takes Q1 Hit on Ukraine Crisis (Reuters)
• Global Banks Keep Up Pace With $742bn in Fossil Fuel Finance Despite Climate Pledges (The Financial Times)
• Global Green Finance Rises Over 100 Fold in the Past Decade – Study (Reuters)
• Green Banking: Brand Differentiator, Regulatory Requirement or Both? (The Financial Brand)