In April 2021, Nur-Sultan city, which was represented by the AIFC, successfully entered the Global Green Finance Index (GGFI) taking the first place in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region and was ranked 57th in the world.
In the next edition of GGFI 8, published on October 20, 2021, Nur-Sultan ranks 52nd and is ahead of such cities as Moscow, Prague, Warsaw and Istanbul in the development of green finance.
During this time, significant work was carried out by AIFC with regulators, financial institutions, business, and society on using green finance instruments, the introduction of ESG principles and the transition to low-carbon development.
It’s worth mentioning the AIFC Green Finance Centre has become the regional office of the Green Investment Principles of the Belt and Road Initiative with the main goal to introduce ESG policies and green finance instruments in financial institutions of Central Asian countries.
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The Astana International Financial Centre was created by the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Leader of the Nation, Nur-Sultan Nazarbayev as part of the “100 steps to implement five institutional reforms” national program. The Centre’s development strategy until 2025 was approved by the Management council of the AIFC during the council’s meeting on July 2, 2020. In accordance with the strategy, the vision of AIFC is in becoming the leading financial centre in the region that includes Central Asia, the Caucasus, EAEU countries, western China, Mongolia, and Eastern Europe.
The mission of the AIFC is to assist the sustainable and long term development of the region. As the head of state Tokayev noted, “AIFC, with its unique opportunities, can act as a universal platform that connects the countries in the region.” The strategic directions for sustainable development of the AIFC include the development of a circular economy, financial technologies and a “digital financial centre”.
AIFC Green Finance Centre is a subsidiary organisation of the AIFC Authority and the Eurasian Development Bank, aimed at introduction and development of sustainable finance instruments and attracting of investments in environmental and social projects in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
The AIFC Green Finance Centre supported the very first issuance of green bonds and first verified green loan in Kazakhstan. Also, the Centre introduced definitions of green finance and green taxonomy (a classifier of economic activities and projects that meet technical selection criteria) in the national environmental legislation. The new legislation provides incentives for entrepreneurs who use green finance instruments.
The Global Green Finance Index (GGFI) was launched by the Z/Yen Group and Finance Watch in March 2018. The index charts the progress of the world’s financial centres towards a financial system that delivers sustainable development, and values people and the planet as much as profit. The index is created by combining questionnaire assessments from financial services professionals, NGOs, regulators, and policy makers with instrumental factor analysis to produce rankings of green financial centres on a variety of indicators. For each edition of the GGFI, analysis is conducted on a range of financial centres across the world. Financial centre assessments are collected via an online questionnaire.
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