Date: 20 June 2024
14:00 – 17:00 Almaty (GMT+5) // 111:00 – 14:00 CET
Venue: UN Plaza (address: 303 Baizakov street)
Online: Register here
Background
The UN Principles for Responsible Banking set out the banking industry’s role and responsibility in aligning the banking sector with the objectives of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. They also, importantly, enable a bank to align its business strategy with society’s goals as expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.
The Principles for Responsible Banking include the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which is the climate-focused initiative of this global framework, established to guide, provide the platform for peer learning to design, set, and achieve credible science-based net zero targets for 2030 for banks’ investors, clients, and customers.
Central Asian countries and the rest of the world today face numerous challenges, associated with climate change, air pollution, water scarcity, desertification, and soil degradation. The UN Principles for Responsible Banking as an innovative mechanism of financing is designed to accelerate the transition to a circular and green economy through unfolding opportunities in the banking sector.
In view of the above UNEP Global Opportunities for Sustainable Development Goals (GO4SDGs), United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI), the German Agency for International Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Chartered Banker Institute, the world’s oldest professional body for bankers, joined forces to deliver contextualized training modules of the Principles for Responsible Banking Academy (the PRB Academy) to help advance skills and knowledge of Central Asian banks and upscale circular practices at the regional level.
To serve these needs, the Academy training modules were recently localized to regional realities to meet the needs of local banks and economies, following the desk assessment’s recommendations, implemented earlier this year.
Objectives
The main objective of the Round Table is to promote the establishment of the PRB Academy in Central Asia as a Center of Excellence in providing educational courses within the sustainable finance agenda through sessions both online and in-person, accommodated at the Union of Banks of Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan).
The above will be achieved through:
- acquaintance with the UNEP FI PRB approach to climate adaptation agenda and circular economy;
- presentation of contextualized training modules of the PRB Academy of Central Asia;
- tailor-made discussion of contextualized training modules with the feedback provided on the substance of the suggested training modules and the format and frequency of training delivery.
Participants
Central Asian representatives of public finance authorities, second-tier banks, civil society organizations from five Central Asian countries, and international organizations.
The event will be held in a hybrid mode. Simultaneous Russian-English translation and recording will be provided.
