[Dec 5, 2023 – Dubai] Ma Jun, President of the Beijing-based Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS) and former Co-Chair of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG), together with representatives from six other founding members, launched the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI) today at COP28. Representatives from over 20 CASI members and partner institutions joined the launch ceremony held in AIIB Pavilion.

As of now, 42 Chinese and global institutions, including financial firms, financial associations, NGOs, service providers and universities have joined CASI as members.

 Representatives from CASI Founding Members

CASI, initiated by the IFS, is an international cooperation platform aiming to deliver high quality and high impact sustainable finance capacity building services to Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs). CASI’s learning programs, including face-to-face training programs and e-learning products, aim to attract an audience of 100,000 people by 2030.

Participants of the CASI Launch Event

“The demand for sustainable investment is huge in EMDEs, but most of these economies are yet to put in place the key elements of a green financial system. A key barrier to mobilizing sustainable finance in much of the Global South is the lack of ‘green’ capacity with various stakeholders, including governments, financial institutions, service providers and project owners. CASI will serve as a global aggregator and distributor of sustainable finance knowledge and provide an effective solution to address the knowledge gap in EMDEs,” said Ma.

“Capacity building is a key enabler for wider adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, especially in emerging markets and developing economies. The ISSB looks forward to working with CASI, via its network of sustainable finance stakeholders, in delivering capacity building for effective sustainability disclosure,” said Faber Emmanuel, Chairman of the ISSB.

Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of HKMA, said “EMDEs are facing steep pathways to meet their sustainable development goals, requiring substantial investment. The HKMA Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office looks forward to working with CASI on leveraging Hong Kong as a leading green and sustainable finance hub to help strengthen EMDEs' capacity and meet their financing needs.”

Zhu Jun, Chairwoman of Silk Road Fund, said “The establishment of CASI is another critical progress in promoting sustainable investment in the global south. As a founding member, Silk Road Fund would like to make our contribution in terms of project implementation, technical assistance, professional training, seminar organization and knowledge sharing. Let’s join hands on the platform of CASI and strive for the common goal of green development.”

Surendra Rosha, Co-Chief Executive of HSBC Asia-Pacific, and Group Executive of the HSBC Group said, “The transition to net zero requires finance to be channelled at scale to where it is needed most. The challenge of Asia's current financing gap is heightened by a lack of technical capability to access and scale up finance. We all have a part to play in building that capability. We are pleased to support CASI to help build local technical skills for organisations to secure sustainable financing in emerging markets across the globe.”

Bill Winters, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, said “CASI demonstrates the value of constructive partnerships to accelerate sustainable investment where the need is greatest. This is particularly relevant given Standard Chartered’s commitment to emerging markets and our long-standing presence across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Sharing our expertise to unlock capacity and aid capital deployment is critical in accelerating future sustainable investment. We are very proud to be involved.”

“As an asset manager, we are pleased to join CASI as a founding member. We firmly believe that enhancing technical capacity in emerging market and developing economies is a key component to increasing the supply of investment opportunities aligned with global net-zero ambitions,” said George Walker, Chairman and CEO of Neuberger Berman.

Margaret Franklin, President and CEO at CFA Institute, said, “Creating sustainable growth is clearly the greatest challenge of our time. It is crucial to develop strong capacity, both at the institutional and individual levels, and we are deeply honored that CFA Institute is furthering our long-time collaboration with the Institute of Finance and Sustainability through CASI. Collectively, we can contribute to ensuring strong and sustainable growth, by helping build institutional and policy-making capacity.”

“As the need for sustainable investment approaches and methodologies grows, it is most timely for the launch of a global platform for training and capacity building. The University of Hong Kong is excited to join CASI, especially in the field of incorporating socio-political risk assessment and multi-stakeholder community engagement into sustainable investment processes,” said David A. Palmer, Professor, University of Hong Kong.

CASI aims to address some of the prominent challenges faced by existing capacity building programs as identified by the G20 SFWG, including:

o   Lack of resources: Limited financial and professional resources devoted to capacity building for EMDEs;

o   Siloed approach: Lack of coordination among content providers leading to duplications in efforts;

o   Narrow topic focus: Existing programs often concentrate on narrow and limited topics;

o   Limited scalability: Limited usage of advanced online learning tools with scalability.

CASI will develop and consolidate educational content in collaboration with its members, tailor them to be more relevant to developing country contexts and deliver them to a much larger audience through its network of distribution partners.

CASI’s learning programs will cover topics including green taxonomies, disclosure, financial products, policy incentives, carbon markets and project origination. Programs will be distributed through a variety of means, including online courses, certificate programs, face-to-face training events, and tailor-made courses.

The target audience of the CASI programs include senior professionals from financial regulators and governments, financial institutions, service providers, as well as corporates that need to originate green and bankable projects.

CASI will begin its operations in 2024, with in-person events planned in Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America.

Annex 1: List of CASI Founding (Category A) Members as of November 2023

o   Institute of Finance and Sustainability

o   HKMA Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office

o   Silk Road Fund

o   HSBC

o   Standard Chartered Bank

o   Neuberger Berman

o   CFA Institute

Annex 2: List of CASI Category B Members as of November 2023

o   Asian Institute of Chartered Bankers (AICB)

o   Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association

o   Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) 

o   Astana International Financial Center (AIFC)

o   Casablanca Finance City (CFC)

o   CDP

o   Client Earth

o   Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI)

o   Columbia University – Center on Global Energy Policy Credit Agricole CIB

o   Deloitte

o   Energy Transitions Commission

o   Ernst & Young

o   Fidelity International

o   China Green Finance Committee

o   Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI)

o   Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road (GIP)

o   Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA)

o   Hong Kong Trade and Development Council (HKTDC)

o   Institute of Climate and Society (Brazil)

o   International Capital Market Association (ICMA)

o   International Platform for Sustainable Finance (IPSF) Taxonomy Working Group

o   KPMG

o   McKinsey

o   Mongolian Sustainable Finance Association

o   PricewaterhouseCoopers

o   Smith College of Oxford University

o   Sustainable Banking Finance Network (SBFN) hosted by IFC

o   Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA)

o   UNDP Sustainable Finance Hub

o   UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)

o   University of Hong Kong

o   University of Tokyo – the Center for Global Commons

o   World Economic Forum

o   World Resources Institute (WRI)