AFI members kicked off the first-ever Inclusive Green Finance (IGF) capacity building event in Rabat on 28 October, cementing the global network’s position as pioneers in this field.

Co-hosted by Bank Al-Maghrib, the two-day training is designed to lay the foundations of AFI’s recently-formed IGF working group with members strengthening their knowledge of the 4Ps framework, an intuitive method of categorizing policies as either provision, promotion, protection or prevention.

“This training reflects the need for awareness raising and offers a timely reminder of the severity of climate change and its costs, and the financial sector is not immune,” said Hakima El Alami, Bank Al-Maghrib’s head of cashless payment oversight, during her opening remarks.

More than 60 people from 33 member institutions have gathered to learn more about country-specific case studies, address different policy approaches to climate change and, most crucially, share their experiences and expertise relating to IGF policies, regulations and measurement frameworks. Most participants are also part of the IGF working group.

For its part, El Alami highlighted her institution’s membership of AFI’s newest and seventh working group as reflecting its commitment to develop “more sustainable practices” that help address the climate emergency.

Underscoring greater awareness of the links between financial inclusion and climate change, speakers have come from across the network’s wide spectrum of global members, including Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Reserve Bank of Fiji and Bank of Ghana.

“IGF is one of the newest policy topics in the AFI Network and the role of regulators in green finance is becoming more evident and more discussed,” said Johanna Nyman, AFI’s head of IGF.

“We have been pioneering the discussions and recognizing the linkages between climate change and financial inclusion,” she said. “This is a new topic for many of our institutions. During the coming days, we will learn from each other, share the realities and experience we have in this field.”

Among the highlights are sessions designed to introduce key IGF terminologies, identify approaches for integrating climate change concerns with national financial inclusion policies and outline ties between IGF and Gender Inclusive Finance.

From outside the network, De Nederlandsche Bank will give a presentation on the experience of integrating sustainability initiatives into the institutional arrangements at the Dutch central bank. Its engagement is part of efforts to learn from and share technical expertise with financial regulators from developed countries.

The member training is being held ahead of the Global Green Finance Conference on 30 October, a unique platform for AFI members and international stakeholders to share insight on the possibilities and challenges of green finance in tackling climate emergency. More than 100 people are expected to attend.

AFI’s IGF workstream is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), which is supported by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).