ECA GBAC Newsletter – June 2021

IFC, with over 20 years of global leadership in green finance, is launching a new knowledge and capacity-building initiative – the Green Banking Academy (GBAC) in Europe and Central Asia, implemented in partnership with the Government of Austria.

Building on the success of the GBAC launched in 2018 in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Green Banking Academy in Europe and Central Asia aims to address the region’s vast green finance potential. ECA GBAC will provide specialized training and advice for financial institutions to speed up their green transformation to enable ECA’s transition to a low-carbon global economy.

Five years ago, Ukraine’s Ukrgasbank began looking for a way to differentiate itself from other banks in the country. Since then, it has been steadily reshaping itself into the country’s first climate-finance bank. The bank’s transformation began in 2015, when the government launched a reform of the country’s financial institutions – starting with the privatization of state banks. Read more

Over the past years, there has been a gradual increase in the electricity prices for enterprises in Ukraine. The key reason for the rising tariffs is the high cost of repairing and modernizing of the worn-out networks and outdated equipment of the traditional power plants. In this situation, Ukrainian companies are seeking more efficient energy sources, with solar energy becoming an increasingly popular alternative. Read more (in Russian, Ukrainian)

The event will highlight the learning and advisory support opportunities offered by the IFC Green Banking Academy in Europe and Central Asia to financial institutions interested in climate finance. IFC’s Paulo de Bolle, Senior Director for the Global Financial Institutions Group and Vittorio Di Bello, Regional Head of Industry for Financial Institutions in Europe and Central Asia will open the event. The event will feature as guest speaker Juan Verde, an internationally renowned strategist and a green economy advocate. Russian translation will be provided. Recording of the event

The event will feature Maria Teresa Zappia, Deputy CEO at BlueOrchard and a global impact investment manager who will speak about the recent trends and innovations in climate finance. Recording of the event

The event will be of interest for financial institutions considering issuing green bonds and other sustainability bonds. A leading expert from the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) will give an overview of the history of green bonds, the market opportunity in ECA, the existing regulatory frameworks, etc. Recording of the event

IFC started partnership with the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to support country’s goal of shifting to a low-carbon economy. IFC will work with NBU to help develop a sustainable finance action plan that will focus on green financing and good environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, to help Ukrainian banks operate more sustainably. IFC experts will help NBU develop a roadmap of policy actions to introduce sustainable finance in Ukraine, with a focus on green financing and other sustainable solutions in line with the EU Green Deal and the EU Green Bond Standards. For more information, please see IFC press release.

On May 18-19, IFC Green Finance Program organized a webinar on climate finance for microfinance institutions in Kyrgyz Republic. The aim was to improve awareness of the local microfinance institutions (MFIs) about the investment potential in climate finance in the country. IFC experts highlighted business opportunity in promising sectors, such as solar, energy efficiency, green transport, and climate smart agriculture. Watch Intro recording (in Russian).

The webinar, hosted by IFC Ukraine Green Finance Program and Ukrgasbank, highlighted the benefits of captive solar plants for businesses. Watch the recording (in Ukrainian).

CAFI (Climate Assessment for Financial Institutions) – a web-based platform which helps financial institutions assess the climate eligibility and the development impact of the projects they finance.

EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) – a cloud-based green building certification platform to calculate the cost of going green and utility savings.

Green Bond Technical Assistance Program – for banks considering issuing green bonds and other sustainability bonds.

Sustainable Banking and Finance Network – for financial regulators interested in developing sustainable finance.

First for Sustainability – for those interested in information on introducing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards and practices.

• Ctrl-Alt-Delete: A Green Reboot for Emerging Markets
• Emerging Market Green Bonds Report 2020
• Necessary Ambition: How Low-Income Countries Are Adopting Sustainable Finance to Address Poverty, Climate Change, and Other Urgent Challenges