Bank Al-Maghrib and the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) are organizing the Global Green Conference on October 30, 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. Over 100 financial sector regulators and policymakers from more than 40 countries are expected to learn and engage in regional and global topics on how financial sector and inclusive finance can best help with climate emergency solutions.

Regulators will explore green finance policies, emerging strategies, new developments in the financial sector and how these policies are contributing to global climate action. Participants will also learn about experiences from the AFI network and beyond in inclusive green finance policies that mitigate or build resilience to the impacts of the climate emergency.

As a leader in green technology and sustainable finance on the African continent, Morocco is an ideal host for a conference that is bringing regional and global stakeholders together from across the financial sector.

“The achievement of the 13th Sustainable Development Goals (take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts) requires strong leadership, firm commitment from financial sector actors, but also a close collaboration between public and private sectors as well as international institutions”, said Bank Al-Maghbrib Governor Abdellatif Jouahri. 

“As global front runners, AFI members are urged to include this new component within their policies, regulations and national strategies to mitigate or build resilience to the climate emergency,” added Governor Jouahri.  

The Global Conference on Inclusive Green Finance has been organized to create space for dialogue and cooperation on how financial policymakers and regulators can help in resolving the effects of climate emergencies through Inclusive Green Finance, AFI Executive Director Dr. Alfred Hannig explained. Dr. Hannig added that engagement which transcends borders and institutional divisions is crucial when dealing with climate emergency.

“We cooperate across organizations and networks. Our goal is to break some of the existing silos and work together nationally. At the same time, we also work across borders and between developing and developed countries. Climate emergency is an area of global convergence and we need to act together”, Dr. Hannig highlighted.

While climate emergency deepens poverty, financial inclusion can build the resilience of individuals, either to a sudden and extreme climate event or the gradual effects of varying rainfall patterns, sea-level rise or saltwater.

“As a global policy leadership alliance, AFI is spearheading the field of inclusive green finance, where financial inclusion and taking action on climate change intersect. This is a unique approach as it focuses on the individuals most affected by the climate emergency and how they can be resilient to climate change,” Dr. Hannig noted.

The four key pillars of inclusive green finance policy are referred to as the 4Ps of inclusive green finance: provision, promotion, protection and prevention, providing financial policymakers and regulators with a typology of available policy options. Although progress is evident in this area, there is a need for greater capacity building and awareness in the financial sector, particularly within central banks.

Inclusive green finance is embedded into three AFI working groups through subgroups and anchored in a standalone Inclusive Green Finance Working Group. AFI’s inclusive green finance agenda complements the green finance policies and strategies emerging from the global financial sector, for example, through the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and the Climate Action Peer Exchange (CAPE).

In September 2017, AFI member institutions formally adopted the Sharm El Sheikh Accord on Financial Inclusion, Climate Change and Green Finance at the AFI Global Policy Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Building on these commitments, the Nadi Action Plan was formalized in November 2018 during the Green Financial Inclusion conference in Fiji.

The inclusive green finance workstream is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), supported by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

About Bank AL-Maghrib

In addition to the privilege of issuing banknotes and coins in circulation and banking supervision, Bank Al-Maghrib, the central bank of Morocco, is responsible for the definition and conduct of monetary policy, with price stability as the core objective. Bank Al-Maghrib has a legal mandate to ensure the smooth operation and the security of Market Infrastructures and security of means of payment. Furthermore, Bank Al-Maghrib contributes in the development and the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy as well as the promotion of inclusive financial system in the Kingdom. 

About Sharm El Sheikh Accord

The Sharm El Sheikh Accord on Financial Inclusion, Climate Change and Green Finance was launched in 2017 and commits members to identify, understand and implement financial inclusion policy solutions that also have positive outcomes for the environment, focusing on communities that are most vulnerable to climate change. Furthering these aims, AFI established an inclusive green finance team to focus on financial sector policies that bring individuals and micro, small and medium enterprises into mitigation efforts and builds their resilience to climate change impacts.

About AFI

AFI is the world’s leading organization on financial inclusion policy and regulation. Roughly 100 member institutions make up the AFI network including central banks, ministries of finance and other financial regulators from over 80 developing and emerging countries. AFI works on empowering policymakers to increase access and usage of quality financial services for the underserved through formulation, implementation and global advocacy of sustainable and inclusive policies.