New Sustainable Banking and Finance Network Research Reveals Rapid Policy Reforms as Catalyst for Expanding Sustainable Finance in Emerging Markets

Sustainable finance in emerging markets

New Sustainable Banking and Finance Network Research Reveals Rapid Policy Reforms as Catalyst for Expanding Sustainable Finance in Emerging Markets

WASHINGTON D.C., April 24, 2024 – The IFC-facilitated Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN) has unveiled its 2024 Global Progress Brief and launched the innovative SBFN Data Portal, offering the most comprehensive benchmarking of sustainable finance trends and initiatives across sixty-six Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).

The 2024 Global Progress Brief highlights key achievements, challenges, and opportunities within the SBFN community across three pillars of sustainable finance defined in the SBFN Measurement Framework developed by members: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Integration, Climate and Nature-Related Risk Management, and Financing Sustainability. This year’s assessment included emerging priorities such as nature-related risk, inclusive finance, and new indicators on climate risk aligned with international good practices and standards.

Since the 2021 SBFN Global Progress Report, all SBFN countries have made swift efforts to introduce climate- and nature-related risk management frameworks, reflecting the translation of commitments made under the Paris Agreement into regulatory action. ESG Integration has also emerged as a cornerstone of sustainable finance, with thirty-nine countries implementing frameworks to manage Environmental and Social (E&S) risks in investment decision-making in line with international standards such as IFC’s Performance Standards, while leveraging them as tools to prevent greenwashing in sustainable finance instruments.

“The record growth of the network and tremendous member progress in shaping policy and influencing markets over the past three years signal the immense power of collaboration, partnerships, and knowledge sharing to steer financial systems toward sustainability,” said Alfonso Garcia Mora, Chair of SBFN Secretariat and IFC Vice President for Europe and Latin America & Caribbean. “SBFN members are demonstrating the importance of recognizing climate and environmental risks as contributors to financial system vulnerabilities, while also highlighting the potential to transform these challenges into opportunities for developing new markets in sustainable finance.”

Furthermore, the surge in the adoption of sustainable finance taxonomies and thematic bond guidelines in SBFN countries is mobilizing financial flows towards activities that support global and national sustainable development goals. Notably, an impressive US$759 billion of thematic bonds have been issued across forty-five SBFN countries.

SBFN comprises ninety-one financial sector regulators, ministries, and industry associations representing seventy countries, and $68 trillion (92 percent) of total banking assets in EMDEs. Moreover, member countries have launched over 400 policies, marking a remarkable 107 percent increase compared to the 2021 report.

In tandem with the Global Progress Brief, SBFN introduced its groundbreaking Data Portal, a dynamic tool designed to track sustainable finance initiatives across member countries on an ongoing basis. Providing detailed insights into SBFN members’ actions, this innovative platform enables regular and consistent monitoring of progress, facilitating multi-dimensional benchmarking across countries, regions, and indicators. The Data Portal will serve as a catalyst for peer-to-peer learning, knowledge sharing, and experience exchange among SBFN members.

“The launch of the SBFN Data Portal represents a significant milestone in our collective efforts to drive sustainable finance forward,” said Nezha Hayat, Chairperson and CEO of the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC), and Co-Chair of the SBFN Measurement Working Group. “This innovative platform will empower our members to track progress, identify best practices, and foster cross-learning, ultimately accelerating our journey toward a sustainable future.” (PR)

For more information on the 2024 Global Progress Brief and Data Portal, visit https://www.sbfnetwork.org/.

About IFC

IFC — a member of the World Bank Group — is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record $43.7 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

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About SBFN

Established in 2012, the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN) is a voluntary community of financial sector regulators, central banks, ministries of finance, ministries of environment, and industry associations from emerging markets committed to advancing sustainable finance. The first global network of its kind focused on sustainable finance at market level, SBFN comprises 91 member institutions representing 70 countries and at least US$68 trillion (92 percent) of the total banking assets in emerging markets, as of April 2024. SBFN members are committed to moving their financial sectors toward sustainability, with the twin goals of improved environmental and social risk management (including disclosure of climate risks) and increased capital flows to activities with positive climate, environmental, and social impact. IFC, part of the World Bank Group, is SBFN’s Secretariat and knowledge partner, assisting members to share knowledge and access capacity building to support the design and implementation of national sustainable finance initiatives. For more information, visit https://www.sbfnetwork.org/

PH Magna Carta on Religious Freedom gets House panel’s approval

Freedom of religion

PH Magna Carta on Religious Freedom gets House panel’s approval

A bill protecting the right of the public to freedom of religion in the country hurdles the House Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday, 29 November 2022.

House Bill 2213, or Magna Carta on Religious Freedom Act was approved subject to style and amendment as the bill was already approved on 3rd reading from the previous 18th Congress.

Authored by CIBAC Party-List Representative Bro. Eddie Villanueva, the proposed bill seeks to provide for an implementing law that will protect and promote the right of Filipinos to live according to their religious beliefs and convictions.

“With this bill, Filipinos will be encouraged to pursue spiritual growth by affording them the freedom to conduct their lives in accordance with their faith or religious belief without the fear of persecution, threat, or punishment,” said CIBAC Rep. Bro. Eddie on his sponsorship speech.

“Moreover, this measure also aims to promote a free market of religious ideas in the country where no religion is suppressed or quelled over the other. By leveling the playing field for the propagation of different religions, Filipinos are afforded the full spectrum of varying faiths and the freedom to choose to which they will subscribe,” he added.

However, the CIBAC solon also clarified that the bill recognizes limitations to religious freedom. Accordingly, it can be denied, regulated, burdened, or curtailed if an action results to violence, or inflicts or poses to inflict direct or indirect physical or material harm or danger on other people, or infringe on their own freedom of religion or conscience, or is necessary to protect public safety, public order, health, property and good morals.

The Magna Carta on Religious Freedom Act will now be set for House plenary debate and voting before it will be transmitted to the Senate for its action. (PR)

AKSYON KLIMA PILIPINAS STATEMENT ON TROPICAL STORM NALGAE (PAENG) AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON GLOBAL AND NATIONAL CLIMATE POLICIES AND ACTIONS

On tropical storm

AKSYON KLIMA PILIPINAS STATEMENT ON TROPICAL STORM NALGAE (PAENG) AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON GLOBAL AND NATIONAL CLIMATE POLICIES AND ACTIONS

Just over a week before the start of the latest global climate negotiations, the Philippines was confronted once more with the reality of the climate emergency.

The nation experienced the impacts of Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae (“Paeng”), which has already made multiple landfalls across Luzon. While not carrying as strong winds or as much rainfall on its own as several typhoons that hit the country in recent years, the overall impacts it has inflicted on 1.8 million Filipinos affected, with over PHP1.2 billion of damages to agriculture and infrastructures, must never be underestimated.

“Paeng” is the latest reminder of how the changing climate, caused primarily by pollution produced from burning fossil fuels like coal and fossil gas, results in the exposure of regions and communities to extreme impacts which they rarely experience in their history. Arguably the hardest hit by the storm has been the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; while not directly on its path yet, the torrential rainfall triggered flash floods and other hazards that has killed 53 persons in the region (as of this writing).

The recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to declare a national state of calamity for the next 12 months speaks volumes of the degree of impact “Paeng” has had across the country, from the millions worth of damages to the agricultural sector that threaten to worsen existing food insecurity to non-economic losses and damages dealt to entire neighborhoods.  

As our state officials prepare to represent all Filipinos at the climate summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (COP27), the impacts of “Paeng” should remind them of exactly what is at stake. Resilience is not enough to respond to the climate crisis, especially the way it is being romanticized in the Philippine context. Positions that our negotiators would carry at COP27 must be anchored on enhancing preventive solutions over reactionary actions that would not place even more burden on the most vulnerable peoples, and hinder our ability to transform into a low-carbon, climate-smart, climate-resilient, and justice-grounded nation.

They also need to exemplify good climate governance by holding accountable government units that had shortcomings that led to the casualties and damages caused by this storm, while actively repudiating false narratives being spread on social media to distract Filipinos from this duty of accountability. It is a reminder that the climate crisis does not choose who would feel its impacts, which is why it is vital to embody the “whole-of-nation” approach to addressing relevant issues and implementing genuine solutions.

Aksyon Klima Pilipinas (AKP), the country’s largest civil society network for climate action, reiterates the following recommendations in light of tropical storm “Paeng”:

• We call on the Philippine government delegation to COP27 to integrate the following calls as part of its official positions:
  • A loss and damage (L&D) financing facility must be established at COP27, with the resulting modes for funding and support for the most vulnerable peoples being accessible and grounded on climate justice.
  • Developed countries must deliver not only on their promise to double adaptation finance, but also to ensure a more even allocation of finance between adaptation and mitigation, as well as establishing equitable, consistent financial flows towards the most vulnerable nations and communities.
  • Developed countries need to not only fulfill their collective pledge to mobilized USD100 billion for developing nations, but also begin laying the foundation with developing nations in setting and defining a far more ambitious new collective quantified goal on climate finance by 2025 that truly meets the needs and demands of the most vulnerable.
  • All nations, especially the highest-emitting countries, must urgently enhance their Nationally Determined Contributions with targets and timelines for reductions of emissions of all greenhouse gases, consistent with pathways aligned with a 1.5-degree warmer world.
  • Parties must establish well-defined implementation plans and strategies for the phaseout of coal-fired power plants and hasten a just transition towards renewable energy resources, aligned with the goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030 and achieving net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
• We reiterate our call on the national and local governments of the Philippines to declare a climate emergency and mobilize more resources and support to scale-up adaptation and mitigation programs, projects, and activities nationwide. We demand that the Philippine Congress pass a law for climate emergency declaration, which must include reducing our reliance on fossil fuels (instead of increasing it, as is the case with the current push for fossil gas expansion), upholding climate justice and related human rights, and scaling up actions to avoid or minimize L&D. We also recommend for local governments around the country to pass local resolutions on climate emergency declaration, including on committing to limit climate-related L&D and strengthening partnerships with different sectors to address local impacts. We present once more the following draft of a sample resolution for local governments to commit to enhancing climate action within their jurisdiction, in the name of a “whole-of-society” approach to facing the gravest existential threat to current and future generations. (PR)

Gov’t pushes for water resilience and disaster platforms for sustainable Davao City

On water resilience and disaster platforms

Gov’t pushes for water resilience and disaster platforms for sustainable Davao City

The developments of the platforms on water resilience and disasters implemented in Davao was presented during the 15th Asian Water Cycle Initiative (AWCI) Session held virtually last September 21, 2022. 

Department of Science and Technology Region XI (DOST XI) Director and Secretary of the Hydrology for Environment, Life, and Policy Davao Network (HELP Davao Network), Dr. Anthony Sales presented said platforms during the AWCI session where Sales further said the Japan International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management introduced water resilience and disaster platforms using earth observation data, which led to the development of the Davao Online Synthesis System (OSS). 

“The Davao OSS synthesizes data on hazard, socioeconomic, and climate change into the Data Integration and Analysis System to capacitate policymakers and disaster managers with informed decisions,” he added. 

To improve the governance of the said system, a set of facilitators from various professional backgrounds were trained to use and interpret data from the Science and Technology tools and were also taught to develop community and contingency plans. 

Currently, HELP Davao Network and its partner Agencies continue to push forward by deploying and ensuring the sustainability of Davao OSS through policy support and institutional commitment through the Davao River Basin Management Alliance. 

Sales also said that they are aspiring to forge an agreement between Davao City and Kumamoto City, Japan, to strengthen knowledge on water resilience and disasters. 

“All these steps are directed to build a sustainable Davao City where water is placed centrally in socio-economic development and where all sectors are enjoined as responsible stewards or resources,” Dr. Sales added. 

The 15th AWCI session was organized with 18 countries aimed to address various water-related issues in Asia comprehensively. 

Davao City gov’t. gets ISO certification

For digitalization, reengineering, human resource, service delivery, public health standards

Davao City gov’t. gets ISO certification

Photo by the City Government of Davao

The City Government of Davao was awarded the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) accreditation by the inspection and certification services group SOCOTEC. The awarding was held October 7 held at the Davao City Hall.

ISO 9001:2015 is a global standard set by the International Organization for Standardization that specifies the requirements for a strong QMS; outlining the processes, procedures, and programs that organizations must develop, implement, maintain, and improve in order to successfully manage production or service delivery. It is effective for three years and applies to all city government departments and satellite offices.

Since adapting the standard last year, the local government successfully met the specifications required by the ISO 9001:2015, including the streamlining of operations through digitalization and organization reengineering, simplification of service delivery, human resource trainings, practice of public health standards, among others.

The awarding ceremony was attended by Mayor Sebastian Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte’s Chief of Staff and former Davao City Administrator Atty. Zuleika Lopez, Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain Jr., QMS Committee Leader Atty. Sarah Phoebe Paclibar, SOCOTEC Operations Director Gilmore Rivera, Development Academy of the Philippines President Atty. Engelbert C. Coronan, Jr. MNSA, City Department Heads, Chiefs of Offices, and other public officials.

Pag-IBIG Fund has highest resolution rate among government corporations, CSC says

government service ….

Pag-IBIG Fund has highest resolution rate among government corporations, says CSC.

Pag-IBIG Fund was ranked first among Government Owned and Controlled Corporations, placing 2nd overall among all government agencies, in the latest ranking by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) of agencies with the highest resolution rates.

According to the CSC’s Contact Center ng Bayan (CCB) report, Pag-IBIG Fund garnered a resolution rate of 92.86%, the highest among all GOCCs in the country and second only to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the entire government sector. This was posted Thursday, September 8, 2022, at the Fund’s official FB page

The CCB is a feedback mechanism designated as the government’s main helpdesk where citizens can request for information and assistance on government frontline service procedures, and report commendations, appreciations, complaints, and feedback.

Also on the list are the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) at third place, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) at fourth place, and the Social Security System (SSS) at fifth place.

Meanwhile, the Land Registration Authority (LRA), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) make up the rest of the Top 10.

The CCB was established by the CSC and the Information and Communications Technology Office-National Computer Center (ICTO-NCC) to support the implementation of Republic Act No. 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) OF 2007.

Among others, the CCB serves as a centralized contact point where all communications from the public may be routed, logged, responded to, and ultimately distributed to the different government agencies for proper handling and resolution, and follow through if necessary.

Fiscal consolidation to make PH public debt more sustainable —PIDS

Fiscal consolidation

Fiscal consolidation to make PH public debt more sustainable —PIDS

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has underscored the need for a fiscal consolidation program, complemented by an economic stimulus package focused on investments in infrastructure and social services,  to reduce the country’s debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio to its pre-pandemic status and maintain manageable budget deficit  levels beyond 2022. 

In its study presented  last week,  the PIDS pointed out that, unlike in the past when public debt spiked because of interest rate shocks or fundamental issues with state enterprises or institutions, the country’s latest borrowings were the result of the pandemic-induced crisis that was preceded by a steady rise in the government’s tax effort and the implementation of tax reform. 

Thus, the country’s high-debt episode is “not as deeply rooted or self-inflicted as in the past,” the PIDS said in its presentation this morning before the media. 

The study was presented before Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, other officials of the Department of Finance (DOF), and members of the media by its authors–Margarita Debuque Gonzales, Charlotte Justine Diokno Sicat, and John Paul Corpus.

According to the study,  the high debt level is  “the result of a large exogenous shock to growth and revenues and of the government’s accumulation of cash reserves as a precautionary move in the event of a long-haul public health crisis.”

The PIDS study recommended that no policy reversals be done so as not to compromise debt sustainability, and that the next administration “maintain fiscal responsibility, not necessarily fiscal stringency.”

Both the national and local governments should also continue their productive spending to jumpstart the economy, it said.

“There is a need for medium- to long-term fiscal consolidation to anchor market expectations. But a fiscal stimulus is needed on items that present large multiplier effects such as infrastructure. Investments in human capital are also needed to address the risks of scarring,” said the report. 

The DOF has earlier stated that fiscal consolidation is necessary to maintain spending for productive activities that could help the country recover from COVID-19.

In line with the statements of the DOF that fiscal consolidation is needed to protect the country from fiscal or economic shocks, the PIDS study also warned against fiscal risks that could undermine the country’s debt sustainability.

These risks include a possible surge in COVID-19 cases that could again lead to lockdowns and limited economic activity; natural disaster and calamities; higher contingent liabilities of social security institutions, public-private partnership (PPP) projects, underfunded pension plans of uniformed personnel which would all result in government shouldering these financial burdens; real foreign exchange shocks; interest rate shocks; and lower GDP growth associated with lower inflation and higher public spending, which leads to costly borrowings arising from higher interest rates and exchange rates. 

The other risks cited by the study include the reduced fiscal space for the national government resulting from the implementation of the Supreme Court (SC) ruling that gave local government units (LGUs) a bigger share in national tax collections; geopolitical tensions such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict; lower remittances and increased number of displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs); decreased global credit; reduced trade; and cybersecurity glitches. 

The PIDS study followed the debt sustainability analysis (DSA) framework outlined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to compute the country’s medium-term debt trajectory based on combined macroeconomic assumptions and forecasts of government and private sector institutions; and the fiscal gap framework of Auerbach (1994, 2020) to calculate the primary balance adjustments needed to bring the debt ratio back to pre-pandemic levels. 

Creation of Metro Davao Dev’t Authority gets nod

MDDA

MinDA lauds creation of Metro Davao Dev’t Authority

The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) welcomes the creation of the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority (MDDA) through RA No. 11708 signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on 13 April 2022.

This new development is aligned with MinDA’s long-term assumption of how metropolis is going to evolve and emerge in Mindanao in the next few years, which is also a higlight in the Metro Davao Urban Master Plan as said in a press statement posted in its (MinDA’s) FB page.

It said MinDA Secretary Maria Belen S. Acosta expressed her full support to this new development for the Metro Davao during the 4th General Membership Meeting of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCII) in Park Inn by Radisson Hotel last Friday, 28 April.

“With the RA 11708 creating the Metropolitan Davao Development Authority signed into law, which establishes special development and administrative region consisting six (6) cities and nine (9) municipalities, Davao Region is expected to experience rapid socio-economic growth and sustainable development,” Secretary Acosta said.

As MinDA has always higlighted through the Mindanao Development Corridors, there is no ‘one size fits all’ strategies in Mindanao and everything is incumbent on the strengths and peculiarity of the areas in the island region.

She also added that “in effect, high impact projects that will bolster urbanization of the Metro Davao will be effectively managed ensuring harmonized and inclusive development in Davao Region.”

Principal Author Cong. Isidro T. Ungab of 3rd Congressional District, Davao City presented, for approval, the House Bill No. 8930 during the 18th Congress 2nd Regular Session. The creation of the MDDA shall provide a metropolitan level management, and to permanently govern the affairs of Metropolitan Davao. It shall also perform planning, implementation, monitoring and coordinative functions and exercise regulatory and supervisory authority over the delivery of area-wide services with Metropolitan Davao.

Meanwhile, Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go who is the author and co-sponsor of the law emphasized that Mindanao will benefit from MMDA’s establishment given that there will be an agency that will oversee and coordinate development efforts and initiatives for the different local government units (LGUs) in Davao Region.

Some of the scope of services and mandate of MMDA include development planning, transport management, solid waste disposal and management, flood control and sewerage management, urban renewal, zoning, land use planning, and shelter services, among others.

MDDA is also seen to maximize the potential of the LGUs for development, which MinDA expects to further propel the economic performance of the larger Davao Region.

The Authority will cover Davao City and its neighboring cities such as Panabo, Tagum, Samal in Davao del Norte, Digos in Davao del Sur, Mati in Davao Oriental, and the municipalities of Sta. Cruz, Hagonoy, Padada, Malalag, and Sulop in Davao del Sur, Carmen in Davao del Norte, Maco in Davao de Oro, and Malita and. Sta. Maria in Davao Occidental.

For more information, please visit our website at https://minda.gov.ph.