CASABLANCA, Morocco--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Under the patronage of His Majesty the King Mohamed VI, may God assist him, and on the eve of COP 22, the second edition of the "Climate Finance Day" took place on Friday, November 4 2016 in Casablanca, registering an international attendance of over 600 finance professionals from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, as well as forty high-level panelists. This gathering coincided with the entry into force of the Paris Agreement.
Organized by Casablanca Finance City Authority, in partnership with Paris EUROPLACE and with the active participation of the African Development Bank, this "Official COP22 Event" helped deepen understanding on crucial issues for the future of climate finance, such as key success factors for green financing scale-up, mobilizing private capital flows, or green bonds as innovative financing instruments in and for Africa.
During the conference opening, several significant announcements in line with the implementation of the Paris Agreement were made.
Mr. Mohamed Boussaïd, Minister of Economy and Finance, stressed the importance of the Moroccan financial sector’s involvement, announcing that a dedicated climate finance roadmap had been established, and will be presented at the COP22 in Marrakech. He added that the Kingdom of Morocco was currently working, with the support of the World Bank, to launch an initiative dedicated to climate change sensitive fiscal policies, while noting that: "the financial resources necessary for the transition to low carbon economies are available, and that the instruments and ad hoc tools remain to be implemented."
Mr. Mustapha Bakkoury, Chairman of MASEN, announced the first green bond issue in Morocco of 1.15 Billion Dirhams (approx. 100 Million Euros). The funds raised will help finance three new photovoltaic stations in the Kingdom, with an aggregate capacity of 170MW. Other speakers added that the development of "green bonds" is a response to growing demand from investors looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their portfolios and projects.
Mr Gérard Mestrallet, Chairman of Paris EUROPLACE announced as Chairman of ENGIE the closing of the Hazelwood coal power plant in Australia.
Finally, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, Director General of the National Pension Commission Nigeria, indicated the introduction of a regulatory framework for Nigerian pension funds’ investments, which integrates sustainable development objectives.
Furthermore, 19 international investors with assets under management exceeding 5,000 Billion Euros, announced their commitment to the preservation of the Arctic, by asking for an open-ended moratorium on oil and gas activities in the high Arctic seas.
Several participating institutions have as such chosen the Climate Finance Day 2016 to premier the release of their reports, including the "Portfolio Decarbonization Coalition", a network of international investors led by UNEP FI and committed to publish annually their carbon footprint, which highlights an acceleration of asset portfolios’decarbonisation, with a commitment of 27 international investors and 600 billion dollars divested. The Inter-American Development Bank also released a preview of its report dedicated to sustainable infrastructure. Moreover, the "Climate Policy Initiative"1 shared the most recent update of its climate finance flows’ figures.
All speakers converged on the major role played by climate finance as the "Future of Finance". As such, international financial institutions were presented as levers to catalyze global savings. Participants highlighted the importance of cooperation between public and private banks as well at local, national and regional levels.
They also noted the risks and challenges of climate change for Africa. There is a tremendous opportunity here to make qualitative leaps (leapfrogs) and promote sustainable development, particularly in the fields of agriculture and energy.
Finally, the conference highlighted the essential, vanguard role that Morocco plays as a catalyst and promoter of resilient growth, both at the national and regional levels, as well as Casablanca Finance City’s commitment as a green financial center, to channel the needed capital to finance the transition towards low carbon economies in Africa and beyond.
About CFCA
About Casablanca Finance City Authority :
Casablanca
Finance City Authority (CFCA), a public-private limited company
established in 2010, has been legally empowered to develop and manage
the Casablanca Finance City (CFC) status. Casablanca is a regional
economic and financial hub, hence a preferred gateway to the African
continent, particularly to North, West and Central African countries.
Site
Web : Casablancafinancecity.com
Twitter : @casafinancecity
LinkedIn
: Casablanca Finance City
About Paris EUROPLACE
Paris EUROPLACE is a non-profit organization, chaired by Gérard Mestrallet, in charge of developing and promoting the Paris financial marketplace and the French financial industry internationally. It brings together all financial industry stakeholders; its 400+ members include issuers, investors, banks and financial intermediaries, insurance companies; attorneys and accountants, consulting firms, etc.
Paris EUROPLACE gathers and expresses positions of market players as it seeks to strengthen the attractiveness of the Paris financial marketplace, establish constructive relations with European and International Institutions in a global financial context, stimulate research and innovation in finance with the cluster FINANCE INNOVATION and the Institut Louis Bachelier (ILB), and promote these objectives internationally.
Web site: www.paris-europlace.com
LinkedIn:
Paris
EUROPLACE
Twitter: @europlace
1 Climate Policy Initiative is a think-tank that produces the most comprehensive inventories of climate change investment available and is committed to improving understanding of climate finance flows at the global, national and local levels.