Jun 01, 2017

Financial Centres for Sustainability: Reviewing Experience and Identifying Options in the G7

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Financial Centres for Sustainability: Reviewing Experience and Identifying Options in the G7

Published: UNEP Inquiry, Corporate Knights

Author: Fern Ramoutar, Jeremy McDaniels, Nick Robins, Toby A.A. Heaps

This report has been prepared as part of Italy’s G7 Environment programme to explore how financial centres can contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. It takes stock of the sustainability agenda that is emerging for financial centres, reviews current practice across leading centres in G7 countries and suggests priorities for further action. This report focuses on green and sustainable finance – in other words finance that delivers environmental benefits within the context of the wider transition to sustainable development.

The report finds that G7 and other countries could encourage their financial centres to develop strategies that scale up green and sustainable finance – including through international cooperation that would create “a race to the top”.

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SAVE & ACCEPT

Singapore

The Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA) is an industry body established by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) along with the financial industry in January 2024. Building on the successful work of the Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT), SSFA is established to collaborate across the financial and real economy sectors to support the growth of Singapore as a trusted, vibrant, and inclusive sustainable finance centre.

www.ssfa.org.sg

Canberra

Established in July 2021 off the back of growing industry support for sustainable finance in Australia, and an increasing willingness from Australian financial institutions to collaborate to drive the transition, the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) is a highly credible organisation with strong governance and organisational capacity to move quickly to capitalise on the opportunity that exists in Australia. With a focus on climate, but work spanning climate, environment and social impact, ASFI works with its members, government, financial sector regulators, universities and the financial sector to drive leadership, policy, regulation, tools and frameworks that support the shift required in the financial system.

www.asfi.org.au

Zurich

Swiss Sustainable Finance (SSF) is an industry association with the objective to strengthen Switzerland’s position as a leading voice and actor in sustainable finance, thereby contributing to a sustainable and prosperous economy.

www.sustainablefinance.ch

Tokyo

FinCity.Tokyo is an organization that aims to boost the attractiveness of Tokyo’s financial markets and raise its profile as a top-class global financial city, while conducting various promotional activities through private–public partnerships.

www.fincity.tokyo/en

Stockholm

Stockholm Green Digital Finance is a not-for-profit organization, whose mission is to accelerate sustainable finance and investment through fintech innovations. It serves as an independent innovation platform and test bed to demonstrate creative solutions for scaling green finance and investment.

www. stockholmgreenfin.tech

Shenzhen

Shenzhen Green Finance Committee (SZGFC) is a professional committee established under Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Finance Association.

https://www.sz.gov.cn/en_szgov/laws/content/post_10098098.html

Shanghai

Lujiazui Financial City is the vanguard of China’s financial innovation and startups. Committee.

pudong.gov.cn/ljzjrc

Rwanda

Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) seeks to position Rwanda as a preferred financial jurisdiction for investments into Africa and create alternatives for mobilizing capital.

www.kifc.rw

Rio de Janeiro

Created by the Inter-American Development Bank, in collaboration with different national and international institutions, the Financial Innovation Laboratory (LAB) is a space open to the discussion of ideas, where institutions and individuals interested in climate and social finance contribute their best efforts and experience to implement innovative financial instruments that promote good practices for capital markets in the region.

www.labinnovacionfinanciera.com

Paris

Finance for Tomorrow is the branch of Paris EUROPLACE launched in June 2017 to make green and sustainable finance a key driving force in the development of the Paris Financial Centre and to position it as a leading financial hub on these issues.

www.institutdelafinancedurable.com

New York

U.S. Alliance for Sustainable Finance (USASF) was established in December 2018, and is based in New York City. The Alliance works to encourage more climate-friendly and sustainable finance innovation across the U.S. capital markets.

https://www.unepfi.org/regions/north-america/

Nairobi

Nairobi International Financial Centre is one of the flagship projects within the Economic Pillar of the Kenya Vision 2030, which falls under the Financial Services Sector. The National Treasury is the implementing department, with the Nairobi International Financial Centre Authority (NIFCA) established by Executive Order to drive the process of creating the Centre.

www.nifc.ke

Montreal

Founded in 2010, Finance Montréal, the financial cluster in Quebec, is at the heart of the development and promotion of the Quebec financial services industry and its international positioning as a growing, competitive, attractive and innovative world- class financial center. The organization also focuses on fintech and innovation, sustainable finance and talent development.

www.finance-montreal.com

Mongolia

Mongolian Sustainable Finance Association (MSFA) was founded by the Mongolian Bankers Association in December 2017 to promote sustainability and green growth by creating a green financing system and assisting Mongolian finance and business sectors to adopt activities that benefit both the environment and the society. MSFA network consists of all 15 banks operating in Mongolia.

www.toc.mn

Milan

Borsa Italiana, Forum per la Finanza sostenibile (FFS-ItaSIF) and Federazione Banche Assicurazioni e Finanza (FeBAF) set up ESGeneration Italy in 2021. This initiative moves in continuity with the commitment that characterizes the work of Borsa Italiana, ItaSIF and FeBAF in terms of sustainability and in the wake of the works concluded in 2019 by the Observatory on Sustainable Finance at the Ministry of the Environment.

www.esgenerationitaly.it

Mexico City

Mexican Council of Sustainable Finance (CMFS) is a non-profit civil association that brings together participants in the financial system to promote best practices in sustainable finance. It is made up of the main financial associations, institutional investors, development banks, commercial banks, multilateral banks, stock exchanges, industrial associations, service providers and independent consultants, among others.

www.cmfs.org.mx

Madrid

The Spanish Centre for Responsible and Sustainable Finance (Finresp) was launched by AEB, CECA, INVERCO, UNACC and UNESPA to address the challenges and needs of the Spanish business community, in particular the needs of its small and medium-sized companies.

www.finresp.es

Luxembourg

Luxembourg Sustainable Finance Initiative (LSFI) is a not-for-profit association that designs and implements the Sustainable Finance Strategy for the Luxembourg financial centre. Its objective is to raise awareness, promote and help develop sustainable finance initiatives in Luxembourg.

www.lsfi.lu

London

City of London Corporation, alongside HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, jointly invested in the Green Finance Institute (GFI) in 2019 to lead the UK’s green finance offer, and to overcome the barriers needed to mobilize more finance for the green revolution. It represents the evolution of the City Corporation’s Green Finance Initiative, which was first set up in the wake of the Paris Agreement.

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

Lisbon

In 2019, the Portuguese Government launched a think tank on Sustainable Finance – Grupo de Reflexão para o Financiamento Sustentável (GRFS) – which is coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Action, in partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition.

www.sgambiente.gov.pt

Liechtenstein

Established in 1969, the Liechtenstein Bankers Association is the domestic and international voice of the banks operating in and out of Liechtenstein.

www.bankenverband.li

Lagos

The Financial Centre for Sustainability (FC4S), Lagos, was established in 2019, as part of an effort to accelerate the expansion of sustainable finance in Nigeria through the collaborative partnership of FMDQ Group, Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure group, which is comprised of the FMDQ Exchange, FMDQ Clear and FMDQ Depository as well as other key stakeholders in the Nigerian financial market.

www.fc4slagos.com

Kuala Lumpur

As part of its developmental mandate, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) set up the Capital Markets Promotion Council (CMPC) in 2012, to strengthen its internationalization agenda for Malaysia’s capital markets. In 2014, the SC rebranded CMPC as Capital Markets Malaysia (CMM) to spearhead the local and international positioning as well as profiling of the Malaysian capital markets.

www.capitalmarketsmalaysia.com

Jersey

Jersey Finance is an award-winning, leading international finance centre (IFC) which prides itself on being at the forefront of industry developments, consistently looking to the future with a forward-thinking, well-regulated approach.

www.jerseyfinance.je

Hong Kong

Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA) was launched in September 2018, and has over 110 members comprising a broad range of financial institutions, corporates and NGOs.

www.hkgreenfinance.org

Gujarat

International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services, and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India.

https://www.ifsca.gov.in/

Guernsey

Guernsey Finance is a specialist global finance centre for private equity administration and captive insurance services and is home to over 20 private and international banks, well over a hundred fiduciary services providers and some hundred and fifty private fund managers and scores of global fund administrators.

www.guernseyfinance.com

Glasgow

Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) is a non-for-profit organization based in Scotland. GEFI is a practitioner-led organization with experts in corporate finance, project finance, banking, law and marketing.

www.globalethicalfinance.org

Geneva

Sustainable Finance Geneva was founded in 2008, as a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting sustainable finance. The SFG community includes individual members and institutional partners from the wider Geneva area.

www.sfgeneva.org

Frankfurt

In 2018, the Green Finance Cluster Frankfurt of the Ministry of Economic Affairs for Hesse and Deutsche Börse’s Accelerating Sustainable Finance Initiative merged under the name Green and Sustainable Finance Cluster Germany (Cluster). The Cluster brings together the activities of the various stakeholders – financial institutions, investor groups, politicians and members of the public – in a network-like structure.

www.gsfc-germany.com

Edinburgh

www.globalethicalfinance.org

Dublin

As a central outcome of the Ireland for Finance Strategy (2021), the International Sustainable Finance Centre of Excellence (ISFCOE) is dedicated to advancing sustainable finance through expertise and impact. ISFCOE facilitates the development of technical knowledge, research, skills and product development in sustainable finance across the full spectrum of international financial services sectors.

www.isfcoe.org

Casablanca

Casablanca Finance City (CFC) is an African financial and business centre committed to the continent’s future. CFC provides a stable environment, localized expertise and a support network to access Africa’s opportunity while mitigating its complexities.

www.casablancafinancecity.com

Cairo

Cairo is represented by the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) and is responsible for supervising and regulating non-banking financial markets and instruments, including the capital market, futures exchanges, insurance activities, mortgage finance, financial leasing, factoring, and securitization.

Busan

Since its establishment as a leading think-tank in 2020, the Busan Finance Center (BFC) has focused on conducting cutting-edge financial research, hosting international conferences, and activating a leading maritime and derivative finance ecosystem.

www.kbfc.or.kr

Beijing

The creation of the Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS) required an intermediary organization to gather industry strength and improve financial market elements. To this end, with the support of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Finance, Beijing Environmental Exchange, together with China’s major carbon emission companies, financial institutions and carbon asset management companies, initiated the establishment of the Beijing Green Finance Association (BGFA).

As a bridge between the government and the market, the BGFA represents industry companies and participates in the design and rulemaking of the domestic carbon emission reduction market, Beijing carbon trading center and carbon financial center and is committed to becoming the industry’s most influential carbon emission reduction industry organization.

en.ifs.net.cn

Barcelona

Barcelona Centre Financer Europeu (BCFE) was established in 1991 with the main objective to help consolidate Barcelona and its economic area of influence as a Financial Centre.

www.barcelonacentrefinancer.org

Auckland

Centre for Sustainable Finance Toitū Tahua was established in 2021 to accelerate Aotearoa New Zealand’s progress towards a sustainable, inclusive financial system. The Centre’s work is anchored in the Sustainable Finance Forum Roadmap, which outlines a set of implementation principles that is followed in its work.

www.sustainablefinance.nz

Astana

Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a large defined zone within the City of Nur-Sultan. AIFC is a financial hub for Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Middle East, West China, Mongolia and Europe. AIFC is viewed as one of the leading financial institutions stimulating the transition to a green economy and sustainable development through investment in clean, energy efficient and low carbon projects.

www.aifc.kz

Abidjan

Abidjan is currently represented by the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cote d’Ivoire; upon its launch, Abidjan International Financial City will take over this role. The Ministry is being supported by a high-level public-private working group that is working on a sustainable finance roadmap for Cote d’Ivoire.

www.finances.gouv.ci

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is an international financial centre located in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. It is composed of three independent authorities: ADGM Courts, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the Registration Authority. ADGM governs the entire 114 hectares (1.14sqkm) of Al Maryah Island which is a designated financial free zone.