The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the National Bank of Cambodia and the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia this week co-organized the “Sustainable Finance Instruments: Training on Thematic Bond Issuance” with the support of the Luxembourg Green Exchange, the world’s first and leading exchange dedicated to sustainable finance.
More than 50 senior executives and officials participated in the training which served to increase the capacity of future green, social and sustainability bond issuance. The training further guided participants through the thematic bond issuance process to identify which bonds or financial instruments fits their needs, determine best practices in terms of principles, taxonomies, external review, and reporting, to apply in their issuance, and explore practical examples and case studies of thematic bond issuances within the region.
The training is part of ESCAP’s support to Cambodia in developing its green and sustainable financial market. The Government of Cambodia has prioritized climate mitigation and adaptation as one of the top priorities in its national development strategy. Without climate adaptation and mitigation investment, it is estimated that the impact of climate change could cost Cambodia 1 per cent of GDP per year for the next decade and could potentially wipe out all economic gains by 2050.
In Cambodia’s latest nationally determined contribution (NDC), the government of Cambodia declared that its climate mitigation and adaptation plans would require total funding of roughly $7.8 billion. The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated the problem by limiting the available fiscal space to address climate risk and fund the Sustainable Development Goals. The funding needed to achieve these Goals is substantial.
The training underscores the potential of thematic bonds to close this gap by raising finance for public and private sector green, social and sustainability initiatives. Globally, thematic bond issuance is expected to surpass $1.5 trillion in 2022.
