CABEI Publishes new Blue Bond taxonamy

09/12/2022

CABEI evolves to a Green & Blue Bond Framework further consolidating its position as the main provider of climate financing in Central America.

Tegucigalpa Dec 5th, 2022. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) incorporated new blue bond taxonomy to its existing green bond framework based on the “Blue Bond Reference Paper Investments” and the “Sustainable Ocean Principles” published by the United Nations Global Compact. The latter in compliance and alignment with both Climate Bond Initiative’s green taxonomy and EU Taxonomy. This is especially important for the Central American region given its geographical location between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean.

CABEI’s Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi stated that “CABEI has historically issued more than US$2 billion in ESG bonds, and with our new Blue Taxonomy, the allocation of proceeds will be directed to finance and refinance projects determined within eligible categories such as: Water Resource Protection, Sustainable Water Management, Renewable Energy, Blue Economy, Nature Protection. Through the support of these categories, CABEI once again a reaffirms its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals”.

"I would like also to highlight the importance of CABEI having relevant partners such as KfW, who have contributed resources and shared with us their experience and technical expertise" stated Dr. Dante Mossi. As such, it is worth noting that CABEI developed the mentioned Blue Bond taxonomy with the support of Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) and Natural Intelligence (NINT).

For her part, Claudia Arce Director for Latin America, and the Caribbean for KfW, stated that “KfW is one of the largest issuers of green bonds worldwide and "Green Bonds – Made by KfW" are an important pillar for our funding strategy since 2014. We are happy to make use of our knowledge in thematic bonds and support our longtime partner CABEI in developing a Blue Bond taxonomy. Especially in Central America it is important to channel funds to sustainable projects in coastal areas and preserve the unique and fragile marine ecosystem that are threatened by many negative influences”.

In line with ICMA best market practices, CABEI’s Green & Blue Bond Framework obtained a favorable and solid second party opinion (SPO) from Sustainalytics: “Sustainalytics believes that the Framework is aligned with the overall sustainability strategy of the Bank and that the green and blue use of proceeds categories will contribute to the advancement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15. Additionally, Sustainalytics is of the opinion that CABEI has adequate measures to identify, manage and mitigate environmental and social risks commonly associated with the eligible projects funded by the proceeds.” Furthermore, the Second Party Opinion provider Sustainalytics added, “Sustainalytics is of the opinion that CABEI is well positioned to issue blue and green bonds and that the Framework is robust, transparent and in alignment with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles”.

The newly developed Blue Taxonomy is aligned with the bank’s 2020-2024 institutional strategy and our existing pipeline of projects, as we continue to support our member countries achieve Sustainable Development and enhance climate resilience in the region.

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