AIFC Green Finance Centre shared the insights from Central Asia at the 3rd Green Investment Principles Plenary meeting

BEIJING, Sep. 14, 2021 – The Third Plenary Meeting of the Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road (GIP) successfully concluded in Beijing in hybrid format. More than 170 representatives from over 50 global financial institutions and organizations participated in person or virtually.

At the Plenary Meeting, the GIP secretariat released The Second GIP Annual Progress Report, titled “Stepping into the Net Zero Era”. Drawing from members’ responses to a series of questionnaires, the annual report captured the substantial progress made by GIP signatories in delivering green investment and enhancing green governance in the past year.

AIFC Green Finance Centre hosting the Regional Chapter for GIP in Central Asia shared its insights on the status quo in the region. “The initial core element of the work of regional office would be the capacity building and support of local stakeholders in developing local standards and in setting up or nominating the central institutes for green finance in each country. This would ensure understanding of the GIP by local players and support its implementation at the business level”, – said Aigul Kussaliyeva, Chief Strategy Officer of AIFC Green Finance Centre.

Since 2018, the GIP membership has expanded to 40 signatories and 12 supporters from 15 countries and regions along the Belt and Road. These signatories currently hold or manage USD49 trillion in total assets, accounting for the largest source of private capital invested in developing countries. During the past 12 months, member-led working groups have successfully hosted four capacity-building events and developed many tools and casebooks, including casebooks on best practices, an online toolbox for risk assessment, and a green project database.

At this year’s annual meeting, 12 members received the GIP awards for outstanding performance in GIP implementation, leadership in capacity building, and contribution as supporting institutions.

Dr. Ma Jun, the Co-Chair of the GIP Steering Committee and Chairman of Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking, said:

“The past three years have seen the collective efforts and solid progress of GIP members in building capacity for green investments. Looking forward, we hope that GIP members can scale up ambitions and act in solidarity towards the Paris Agreement goals, with the launch of more regional chapters and the development of more effective analytical tools, to help accelerate the decarbonization of the real economy along the Belt and Road and grasp the opportunities brought by the new Net Zero Era.”

AIFC Green Finance Centre will be hosting a session on ERA (environmental risk assessment toolkit) and green projects database of GIP within the annual World Investor Week on 6 October in virtual format.

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The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) 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 Management council of the AIFC during the council’s meeting on July 2, 2020 approved the Centre’s development strategy until 2025. 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 in assisting 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 the sustainable development of the AIFC include the development of a circular economy, financial technologies, and “digital financial centre.”

For more information about the AIFC, follow the link www.aifc.kz

The AIFC Green Finance Centre is an AIFC Organisation created to enable the development of green finance in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The main goal is to bring investments to sustainable economy through trending financial instruments, such as green and social bonds. In addition to that, the AIFC Green Finance Centre, being a regional think-tank, provides strategic and business consulting in green finance and sustainable development to Governments, quasi-state organisations and entrepreneurs. The Centre provides initial assistance to potential issuers, investors and market players on preparations for the issuance of green bonds on the AIFC Exchange (Astana International Exchange).