CABEI Secures a Positive Assessment on its first Green Bond Framework Second Party Opinion
Octuber 1, 2019.- On September 24, 2019, CABEI received a positive Second Party Opinion (SPO) on its Green Bond Framework which is aligned with the Green Bond Principles. This is the first time CABEI undergoes this type of evaluation and certification, for which the Bank appointed Sustainalytics as the SPO provider.
As part of its assessment, Sustainalytics stated that “CABEI’s Framework is aligned with the Bank’s Sustainable Development strategy and that the environmental and social use of proceeds categories will advance a number of key SDGs. By adhering to strong eligibility criteria, demonstrating a structured and transparent project selection process which ensures the mitigation of environmental and social risks, committing to manage proceeds in alignment with market practices and reporting on allocation and relevant quantitative indicators, Sustainalytics considers that the CABEI Green Bond Framework is robust, credible and in alignment with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles 2018”.
On April 2016, CABEI’s Board of Governors declared its commitment to promote and support actions to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation measures to support member countries achieve the goals established in COP21. Furthermore, on April 2019, the aforementioned Board of Governors issued a Zero Carbon emissions statement through which it expressed CABEI’s commitment to refrain from financing projects related to coal exploration, extraction and energy generation and to identify initiatives that promote climate change mitigation and prevention. CABEI’s Zero Carbon emissions statement also considers the strengthening of low-carbon economies, societies resilient to climate change, sustainable food production, clean energy generation and energy efficiency.
For his part, CABEI’s Executive President Dr. Dante Mossi stated that the Bank is currently the main provider of financial resources for the region's development and is working to increase climate change resilience and improve the quality of life for Central Americans. As such, Dr. Mossi emphasized that during the 2015-2018 period, the Bank approved financing for US$2.8 billion in climate change initiatives, which represents 35% of CABEI’s total loan approvals for the period, and also considered the channeling of US$847.0 million of external funding from other development partners.
CABEI’s Executive President also highlighted the Bank’s accreditations with global funds such as the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund which will further strengthen CABEI’s impact on the region’s resilience to climate change.
The positive Second Party Opinion, enables future Green Bond issuances by CABEI, further diversifying its funding portfolio and pool of investors, reinforcing the Institution’s commitment towards the region’s climate change adaptation and mitigation.
