Helping Africa chart a green energy path
Wind turbines at Kouga Wind Farm at Oyster Bay in the Eastern Cape. Picture: SUNDAY TIMES
In recent years investors have become increasingly concerned about climate change, with investment mandates giving more weight to environmental, social and corporate governance issues. This important development means corporates have a strong mandate to ensure they create value not just for shareholders, but for other stakeholders too.
This year Standard Bank received a new set of proposed resolutions aimed at requiring the bank to adopt a policy on lending to carbon-intensive, fossil fuels activities, and to commit to a hard deadline for enhanced disclosures related to climate risk. Given the lack of existing data needed to assess, price and manage climate-related risks, this process requires collaborations with other stakeholders. To that effect, we are participating in the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s TCFD pilot programme, and we are working with the Banking Association SA and the National Business Initiative to enhance our data on climate risk.
The Paris Agreement recognises that the transition will take longer in developing countries, especially those in Africa, where access to reliable and affordable energy continues to constrain socio-economic development. But thanks in part to rapid declines in renewable energy prices and our adherence to global best practices, the vast majority of our total underwriting of energy transactions in recent reporting periods has been for green energy.
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