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Banks in the GCC region are tackling climate transition risk, but it remains a ‘work-in-progress’
Standard & Poor’s Ratings has this week addressed frequently asked questions about climate transition risk facing banks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, describing banks’ efforts in measuring the risk to date as a ‘work-in-progress’. On financed emissions, like those covered by RFI Foundation’s financed emissions database, S&P highlighted that “banks' difficulties with measuring scope 3 emissions come up regularly in our discussions”. This is understandable because emissions measurement is an almost universal challenge for banks globally.
This context of data gaps was a motivating factor for the way RFI undertook its financed emissions work, which is catalogued in an open-access database with five years of data covering banks and financial markets in the six GCC countries and five other OIC markets. The financial sector plays a key role in financing the transition and will need substantial new capabilities beyond what they have now to understand the many types of climate transition risk they face from the activities they finance.
Climate and nature will be integrated into banking supervision in OIC markets faster than most banks expect
WWF have released their latest update to their evaluation of central bank and financial supervisors’ policy responses on sustainability, climate and nature issues. Among the six OIC countries covered (Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the UAE), there was wide variability in the ways that sustainability, climate and nature risks are being addressed. Policy responses among OIC countries and across the 47 countries covered showed no correlation with countries’ income levels.
OIC financial institutions need a comprehensive approach to align with COP 28 outcomes
Since the Paris Agreement was signed at COP 21, one of the most important issues has been defining how the world makes “finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-resilient development”. The global stocktake released at the end of COP 28 provides updates on the activities the financial sector will need to align in order to mitigate climate change by 2030.
Transition finance mapping highlights key gaps
Transition finance is a particularly challenging concept to move from idea to reality. In contrast to sustainability, which has been defined in taxonomies, there are far more pieces in the puzzle when creating transition finance. It is made up of more discrete thresholds when evaluating and assessing credible transition thresholds. The Climate Bonds Initiative has compared a range of transition guidance methodologies and created a mapping of the issues covered or omitted from each guidance, some related to transition finance and others focused on corporate transition planning.
Trying to create a singular measurement of climate risk can distract from urgent efforts to address climate change
A short brief from the Environmental Defense Fund digs into some of the challenges of interpreting the financed emissions data released by financial institutions. It examines the disclosures made by two U.S.-based financial institutions on absolute emissions and emissions intensity, and it looks behind the numbers to illustrate a point about the way that financial institutions report their financed emissions.
Investors Undervalue Climate Mitigation Opportunities In Emerging & Developing Markets
A chapter in the IMF’s Financial Stability Report highlights how emerging and developing countries will need to mobilize $2 trillion per year for climate mitigation – 90% of it from the private sector when China is excluded. Many countries face an uphill task because credit ratings that are lower investment grade, sub-investment grade or not rated turn off many institutional investors, and multilateral development banks don’t attract as much private finance as they could. In some cases, these countries would increase their long-term creditworthiness by investing in climate mitigation rather than if they are unable to at the scale required.