Through this FIAS-supported project, the IFC team is working to foster climate finance in Central America by supporting the Central American Council of Superintendents of Banks, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions (CCSBSO) and the participating superintendencies in the development of a green finance taxonomy that will lay the foundation for green financing.
Central America is one of the regions of the world which is most exposed to the adverse effects of climate change. In consideration of the climate needs of the region, through this project, IFC will work with at least two financial institutions (FI) that operate in member countries of the CCSBSO on the identification of the green portfolio aligned to the developed green taxonomy. All this work is also expected to have a catalyzation effect of $79 million by 2028 for green projects. The green taxonomy guide is expected to incentivize regulators on green financing and inform FIs' green financing frameworks in selection, underwriting, decision-making and disbursement processes.
Currently the project has successfully completed the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) program in which the project team conducted a mission to Bogotá to engage with representatives from the CCSBSO and FMO/Norfund, and colleagues from IFC Creating Markets Advisory and Financial Institutions Group. The team delivered the fourth, in-person, module of the GBAC program for regulators, among other planned activities. This module constituted the last part of the training series launched in October 2022 with 9 virtual sessions (18 hours); 23 participants from the eight countries attended the in-person module from the 60 total participants in the overall training. Furthermore, to lay the groundwork for the taxonomy, the team developed and delivered a paper analyzing the general context of the seven sectors in Central America included in the development of the taxonomy.
A mother carries her child in a crop field in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. Photo: Maria Fleischmann/World Bank