Global banks ask industry to set action on climate change

Bonn, Nov 9 (IANS) The Climate Action in Financial Institutions initiative on Thursday called on the world's financial community to sign up to a set of key principles for mainstreaming climate action adopted in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The call comes at a time when the entire global leadership is assembled in this former German capital city for the 23rd annual climate change talks of the parties or COP23 at the UN Climate Change Conference.

The initiative at a side event here was co-organised by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) and I4CE - Institute for Climate Economics (Secretariat of the Initiative).

Representatives of the institutions supporting the initiative also called on business and industry to join them in implementing the five voluntary principles for mainstreaming climate action.

These principles, agreed at COP21 in Paris by around 20 public and private financial institutions include commit to climate strategies, manage climate risks and promote climate smart objectives.

The Paris Agreement has set a significant challenge for governments and the financial community: aligning all financial flows with a below two degrees Celsius-coherent economy and society.

The Climate Action in Financial Institutions initiative has significant potential to support this commitment and develop and share practice to the benefit of the entire financial community to help implement the Paris Agreement.

Thirty-one institutions are now part of the initiative and they announced the launch of a new online and publically accessible Climate Mainstreaming Practices Database, shared the progress made by the initiative, and specifically how it can support the implementation of the Paris Agreement in the financial sector.

The Climate Mainstreaming Practices Database will help institutions to share their knowledge and experience via concrete case studies to help them take into consideration climate change and implement the principles.

"Since the initiative was launched two years ago, we have come a long way. The case studies contained in this new database launched today will give financial institutions and business a much improved overview of how their peers are integrating climate change in all their operations," said an official statement quoting 14CE Managing Director Benoit Leguet.

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