The second annual Green Growth Forum organised by the AIFC Green Finance Centre was launched in Nur-Sultan.
The forum is attended by over 300 leading global and domestic experts in green finance, experts, politicians, representatives of business and the public sector. The keynote speakers for the forum are former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan Tshering Tobgai, director of Tsinghua University's Green Finance Research Center Dr. Ma Jun, head of the Climate Bonds Initiative Sean Kidney, green bonds consultant to the UN Secretary General.
The AIFC Governor Kairat Kelimbetov delivered a welcoming speech to the forum participants. According to him, the AIFC considers the green finance as one of the strategic directions of its activities. As Dr. Kelimbetov noted, the AIFC is currently cooperating with state and quasi-state bodies to ensure the issuance of the first green bonds on the AIFC exchange, including sovereign green bonds.
“As part of the development of the Islamic finance market, we are working on the issue of green Islamic papers, green sukuk. In addition, the AIFC is actively cooperating with the akimats of the cities of Nur-Sultan and Almaty to form a pool of green projects for which new green financial instruments can be used,” he said. According to Kelimbetov, the AIFC has created all the conditions for the financial centre to become a leader in the system of green finance in the entire Central Asian region.
The Green Growth Forum was initiated in 2018 and has already become one of the main events in the field of green growth in Central Asia and a meeting place for green finance specialists around the world.
This year, the forum participants discusses topics related to the green taxonomy, best available techniques, low carbon development, etc. A meeting of the AIFC Green Finance Advisory Council will also be held within the framework of the forum.
The forum is being held jointly with Tsinghua University with the support of the UK PACT. The IV international seminar of the global leadership program in green finance “Greening the financial system of Central and South Asia” is hosted back to back with the forum. The seminar is dedicated to raising awareness of green finance, sharing international experience and best practices, discussing barriers and opportunities for developing green finance in Central and South Asia.
An awarding ceremony was also held at which The AIFC GREEN FINANCE AWARDS 2019 prizes were awarded in such nominations as the “Greening the Belt and Road initiative, “For contribution to the development of the green financial system in Kazakhstan,” “For opening new markets for green finance.”