The Bank of Cape Verde has opened a public consultation on a preliminary set of technical criteria to make Cabo Verde’s sustainability taxonomy operational. The proposal, presented as version 1 of the national taxonomy, covers eligible activities in the energy and water and wastewater sectors and is designed to determine when an entity or investment can be classified as sustainable under the legal regime approved in May 2026. That regime established a taxonomy with six environmental objectives and one social objective, but requires technical criteria before it can be applied in practice. The draft adopts a phased approach and starts with climate mitigation and climate adaptation criteria for sectors identified as strategic, investment-intensive and ready for objective assessment. It uses a binary classification model, under which an activity is either taxonomy-aligned or not, and requires five conditions for alignment: substantial contribution to at least one environmental objective, no significant harm to the others, compliance with minimum social safeguards, satisfaction of the relevant technical screening criteria and supporting documentation. In energy, the proposal covers renewable electricity generation, electricity and thermal storage, transmission and distribution, efficient cooling and hot water systems, and demand-side efficiency measures. In water and wastewater, it covers water abstraction, treatment and supply systems, leak reduction and efficiency upgrades, rainwater harvesting, desalination, recycled water, wastewater collection and treatment, and strategic storage and resilience infrastructure. The criteria include measurable thresholds in some areas, including life-cycle emissions below 100 gCO2e/kWh for certain electricity activities, minimum 20% energy savings for many efficiency upgrades, minimum 30% savings for lighting upgrades, minimum 20% reductions in water losses or system energy use for water network renovations, a desalination emissions cap of 1080 gCO2e per cubic meter of freshwater produced, and a wastewater treatment benchmark of no more than 45 kWh per population equivalent per year. The consultation runs from July 1 to August 10, 2026. The taxonomy is intended to be updated periodically and expanded over time to additional sectors, with the draft identifying areas such as transport, buildings, tourism, fisheries and the blue economy, waste management and agriculture for future development.

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