ECA GBAC Newsletter – October 2021

The recent developments in renewable energy generation increase the demand for long-term battery storage, as well as the potential profit for energy storage developers. The global need for energy storage is expected to rise by 23 percent by 2030, increasing the market revenue to $16 billion by 2030. Read more

In November managers of six banks from Armenia, Kosovo, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan will start an in-depth exclusive online training program on green, social, and sustainability (GSS) bonds. The course will provide insight on GSS bonds issuance and the underlying drivers in sustainable finance. The program is delivered by IFC in partnership with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Experts from IFC Green Banking Academy are providing dedicated coordination support to the program participants. More about the IFC-ICMA GSS bonds training program

IFC’s $75 million loan to Uzpromstroybank will support the bank’s path to privatization, as it aims to finance more climate-friendly projects and expand lending to small and medium enterprises in Uzbekistan. Read more

Despite the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic, IFC’s investment and advisory programs have been supporting Ukraine’s private sector by improving its access to sustainable finance. Read more

In December we will be closing our monthly series of events for this year with an online discussion on key implications for financial institutions in the ECA region following from the COP26, the annual UN climate summit to be held on 1-12 November in Glasgow, UK. COP26 is expected to be the largest international event ever held in the world. Finance will be a critical issue at the summit.

Join us to learn how conclusions from the world’s most important climate summit can impact your financial organization.

See the event materials

• Guidelines for Blue Finance. Draft for Consultations (IFC)
• Financing the transition to net zero: how sustainability-linked bonds, blue loans, and other new financing tools target the climate crisis (IFC)
• Green Bonds for Climate Resilience – A Guide for Issuers (Global Center on Adaptation, EBRD)
• The Green Bond Report. Floods, Fires and the IPCC: the Climate Crisis Gets Real (SEB)

• Will COP make any difference? (GreenBiz)
• Climate finance for poor countries to hit $100bn target by 2023, says report (The Guardian)
• Before the storm – reflections on COP26 (environmental-finance.com)
• Gaps in climate disclosure will hit corporate access to capital (EBRD)
• Why financial markets should care about Biodiversity COP15 (Planet Tracker)