On September 10-12, Nur Sultan will host the second annual Green Growth Forum, organized by the Green Finance Centre of the Astana International Financial Centre.

The Green Growth Forum is an international platform for an open dialogue with state authorities, organizations, industrial enterprises, business and the public on waste processing and the transition to a green economy of the CIS and EAEU countries.

Within the framework of the forum, international experts in the field of green finance, politicians and famous personalities, such as Sean Kidney (CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative), Vincent Duijnhouwer, (Associate Director, Senior manager of Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Department of EBRD), Catherine Stewart (Chief Negotiator for Climate Change / Director General, Climate Change International at Environment and Climate Change Canada), Michael Sheren (Senior Advisor, Bank of England), Morgan Despres (NGFS Secretariat/Banque de France) and many others are expected to speak.

The forum aims to bring together financial regulators, politicians, senior members of financial institutions and other key stakeholders from the Asian region, as well as international experts from China, the EU, the UK and international organizations to discuss important issues affecting green and sustainable financial development in Central Asia.

The Green Growth Forum, launched in 2018, has already become the main annual green growth event in Central Asia and a meeting place for green finance professionals around the world.

In 2018, more than 300 participants from more than 40 institutions gathered at the First Forum on Environmental Growth, including representatives of Kazakhstani and foreign political and business circles, international organizations, financial institutions and development institutions.

Last year's topics included the development of sustainable energy sources, the promotion of the use of renewable energy sources, practical tasks and solutions for the introduction and use of innovative technologies for the collection, sorting and processing of various types of waste, new incentives for the development of the waste management industry.

This year, the Forum will cover topics related to the green taxonomy, the best available technologies, low-carbon development, etc. A meeting of the AIFC Green Finance Advisory Council will also take place within the framework of the forum.

In addition, on September 11-12, the International Seminar on the Greening the Financial System of Central and South Asia, 2019 will be held. As the 4th Global Leadership Program in the Field of Green Finance (GFLP), this seminar is held jointly with Tsinghua University, Astana International Financial Centre and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) with support from the UK Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The seminar will focus on raising awareness of green finance, sharing international experience and best practices, discussing barriers and options for developing green finance in Central and South Asia.

Recall that the development of green finance is one of the key areas of development of the Astana International Financial Center. The AIFC Green Finance Centre is creating a single platform for issuing green bonds to companies engaged in projects to increase the efficiency of using existing natural resources, reduce the level of negative environmental impacts, improve energy efficiency, mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to climate change (green bonds).