Sustainable Banking and Finance Network publishes white paper proposing a common framework for inclusive sustainable finance

The Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN) has launched a white paper, Leaving No One Behind: Unlocking Finance in Emerging Markets, setting out common approaches to “inclusive sustainable finance” and how they can support climate adaptation and resilience in emerging markets. The paper notes an estimated USD 2.5 trillion financing need for emerging markets to meet climate adaptation and resilience goals and proposes a definition of inclusive sustainable finance focused on improving access to capital for vulnerable, marginalized, or excluded populations and sectors, while mitigating exclusionary effects of sustainability and climate-related policies. It identifies five key building blocks, provides policy examples from SBFN members including the Bank of Ghana, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Brazilian Federation of Banks, the Central Bank of Egypt, the Central Bank of Jordan, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Central Bank of Tunisia, the Kenya Bankers Association, and the Tanzania Bankers Association, and sets out recommendations for further steps. The white paper was developed by the SBFN Inclusive Sustainable Finance Task Force, established in January 2024.