Commercial Financing and Climate Change
Climate financing has a key role to play in funding sustainable solutions and innovations that support climate goals and commercial banks around the globe have made great strides in this. In recent years, several new methods for financing green projects have been developed, including green bonds, green banks, and village funds. Financiers engaging in green financing have a key role to play in channeling capital or extending credit to environmental initiatives. Ways to achieve this could include offering better credit conditions for clean energy projects, the creation of innovative financial products that reward agricultural producers with good environmental practices, and market expansion through the dissemination of information about the benefits of clean energy. A strong drive to reach climate goals is therefore also emerging in the South African financial industry and Absa is committed to supporting this. In this regard, Absa is a signatory to the United Nations Environmental Program and Finance Principles for Responsible Banking. Absa Business Banking also has a dedicated unit and associated specialists that advise clients in primary Green financing provides opportunities for the future
Why measure your emissions? agriculture and the rest of the value chain on investments in renewable energy sources. At Absa, we realize that climate issues are something we can no longer ignore and that they need to be part of our conversations. Understanding your carbon footprint is one of the important first steps in setting a broader Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy and managing your broader risk profile. To enable you to play your part in climate mitigation objectives you first need to understand and measure your footprint. As mentioned above, global trends show that financial and insurance products are being developed that will benefit producers that are producing in an environmentally friendly way. By gauging your carbon footprint, it provides a baseline from which you can work to reduce carbon emissions and receive cost benefits from service providers that can reward you for responsible and sustainable production. Products with an export focus are likely to be required to report on their carbon footprint in company reports and on food labeling.
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