May 7, 2025 • 29 mins
"Many UAE banks have seen sustainable finance as a profit center", says Vijay Bains, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of ESG at Emirates NBD. In this episode of ESG Currents, Grace Osborne, BI’s ESG integration analyst for EMEA, speaks with Bains about the rising momentum of sustainable finance in the GCC and its intertwinement with the region's economic diversification plans. With UAE's national banks' pledging to mobilize AED 1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, alongside strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions, opportunities for capturing sustainable value creation are mounting. From water scarcity solutions to green building initiatives, the GCC is scaling its sustainability ambitions at a time where other regions in the world appear to be stepping back.
This episode was recorded on May 1, 2025.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
ESG has become established as a key business theme as
companies and investors seek to navigate the climate crisis, energy transition,
social mega trends, mounting regulatory attention and pressure from other stakeholders.
The rapidly evolving landscape has become inundated with buzzwords and lingo,
and we aim to break these down with industry experts.
Welcome to ESG Currents, your guide to navigating the evolving
(00:31):
ESG space, one topic at a time, brought to you
by Bloomberg Intelligence, parts of Bloomberg's research department, with five
hundred analysts of strategers who working across all major world markets.
I am Grace Osborne, the a mere ESG integration Analyst.
In today's episode, we're diving into the rise of sustainable
finance in the Mena region, where financial institutions are stepping
(00:53):
up as powerful drivers of change. Banks in the UE
are leading the charge with UE Banking Federation and pledging
two hundred and seventy billion dollars in green finance by
twenty thirty from national banks, which will be pivotal in
supporting the country and meeting its climate targets. Across the GCC,
green investments from renewables to real estate is estimated to
(01:15):
add two trillion dollars to regional GDP by the end
of this decade. Joining us is VJ Bains Group, Chief
Sustainability Officer and head of ESG at Emirates MBD, one
of the Middle East leading banking groups with over twenty
years of global experience including the European Bank of Reconstruction
and Development and World Bank. Alongside a seat on multiple
(01:38):
regional and global sustainability councils, from the UA Banking Federation
Sustainability Leadership Council to the World Economic Forum of Sustainability
leaders VJ is playing an integrale in shaping the future
of finance in the region. VJ welcome, it's great to
have you with us. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Thank you, Grace. So it's great to be here and
talking about sustainable finance in the region as well.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So maybe just kick off and set the scene. Could
you tell us a little bit more about your involvement
is sustainable finance and I guess from your advantage point,
how sustainable finance is evolving in the region.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Thanks so much, and it's a great question. So I
lead Sustainable finance for Emerates NBD group where leading GCC
bank and what that means is from funding to financing
that comes through our desk, and what that means is
looking at when we raise capital, working with our group
funding teams and group corporate affairs teams, through to financing
(02:34):
with clients, and also making assessments as well of our
asset management team of what assets are green and what
our social and also where we shall really be focused
on as well. The most interesting part of my job
is probably really focus on clients and really transforming our
conventional financing into increasing sustainable finance, and finally looking at
(02:55):
our corporate strategy as a whole and our own net
zero pathway as well.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
I think we're seeing so much kind of momentum in
the region and it'd be kind of interesting to hear
what you're seeing happening more broadly in the region as well.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Expansion. I think that's the most simple way expansion. I
think the region is really bucking the global trend for
sustainable finance. So for EMSMBD as well ourselves, this quarter
has been the busiest quarter we've seen. That's fantastic. Now
that's been really fueled by the UE host and COPP
that really galvanized support for sustainable finance, for net zero
(03:29):
and also for the UEE energy commitments. Now that's been
mirrored as well in Saudi and in other countries in
the region as part of the economic diversification strategy. Finally
as well, actually there's probably now one hundred chief sustainability
officers for the major corporates in the region as well.
So actually what that means is each company has integrated
sustainability into their corporate strategy and they've realized that's a
(03:52):
new language through which they can really HARMSS the power
and speak about a global voice of sustainability, about NETZ
and about their own commitments as well.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, I think it's so interesting actually in the context
of what's going on globally. Was over in Dubai at
the end of the last year, and the kind of
momentum and energy is absolutely purple in space, I think,
in a kind of a different way to obviously what
we're seeing maybe some retraction in other areas of the world.
And I think what's interesting is that maybe previously in
(04:22):
the sustainable finance space it's more focus on sovereigns, are
now the banks, particularly in the UAA are really emerging
as front runners, particularly with that commitment, and we mentioned
the one trillion derems and sustainable finance by twenty thirty
from national banks, and we've seen I think, as you mentioned,
other countries are move forward within the region. Even I
think Qatar has their central bank has launched its drive
(04:44):
to kind of get DOA as like a lead financial
set to sustainability strategy, kind of placing it as a
lead green finance hub. So it's clearly importance of the
role of banks. How do you think banks are kind
of driving the issue agenda for within the region.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I think, as you said, that one training commitment has
really galvanized the local banks to stop to have a
look at our own portfolios. So many of us now
have made those commitments, are now translating it into relationship
manager discussions, into doing industrial analysis. But further now as well,
as you just mentioned, there's a lot of regional growth
as well. So for us, actually we're huge investor in
(05:22):
the UE sustainability actually seeing the fastest growth probably in
Saudi as well, and that's you know, part of the
Saudi hydrogen strategy, part of the UE hydrogen strategy, part
of the NDC commitments as well, but we're updated early
this year and the UU was the first of ten
countries in the world including the UK, to update and
increase this NDC commitments. So many of the countries in
(05:44):
the region actually look to each other for inspiration and
I have to say kind of growing and cooperation as
well amongst GCC countries. I think finally as well, it's
really a lot of the banks are now saying that
it's part of kind of the corporate identity as well
for the banks as well to link into the EU
funds to get financing as companies go to IPO as well,
(06:08):
and we've seen as well the UE leading for global
IPOs as well. You need to have an eacy strategy,
you need to have a sustainable finance strategy, and you
need to answer a lot of those questions as well.
So actually for us as banks, it's often advising on
the IPO strategies, on the syndicating bonds, but increasingly on
loans as well. And what that means is we're going
from financier to advisor as well, and that's an amazing
(06:31):
place to be as well, because a lot of these
relationships are very deep seeded where the countries are growing
up together, the banks have grown up together, so the
banks have really seen as trusted partners to advise the
companies on what is sustainable and what isn't sustainable as well.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Yeah. Absolutely, I think that's so exciting actually to be
able to kind of shape a little bit the direction
that things are going, and as you say, have that
kind of advisory role beyond just kind of providing the financing.
I guess then obviously it's fantastic we're seeing the volume increase,
but a key part is also having that kind of
impact and transparency and integrity. I believe that emerates. MRID
(07:09):
was the first bank in the region, or is the
first bank in the region to publish an independent ISSB
report that was aligned with FRS S one and S two.
Can you tell us a little bit more about the
metrics that are published in this and why transparency and
accountability are so important to investors within the kind of
(07:30):
EESG space the same or finance space.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, and I em yeah, correct, is the first bank
in the region, and we believe I think maybe the
first bank in the world. We're still checking that as well,
to publish a independent ISSP report wa desurance. So we
checked a few key metrics. One is the linkage to
our own financial statements, so really saying how much sustainable
finance do we take from the global market, so how
(07:55):
much do we raise as well, So that means through
our own sustainable link loan bond, sustainable bonds as well
as sustainable loans as well, and that goes into our
own debt financing. So actually making that financial statement linkage
was absolutely really key and actually we talked to a
number of other banks of actually, if you do this,
you can kind of link it quite easily, so it's
not as difficult and I think that everyone listening it's
(08:17):
not as difficult as we might imagine. The second one
was actually going to our finance submissions, so actually getting
independent assurance on our finance submissions from KPMG as well,
and what that means is looking at our methodology, looking
at our calculations off which there's tens of thousands of
calculations for finance submissions. It's quite a heavy piece of
work as well, and our risk and ESGY teams do
(08:40):
fantastic workfare as well, and looking at how we do
those calculations. Why is that important because we need to
update our emissions calclations on an annual basis as well
using a peacaff methodology, and also show that net zero
pathway as well. And finally, as well, what we also
looked at is some of the key statements as well
that we've made as well, just to make sure those
are assured as well, where we've made sustainable finance numbers
(09:03):
or how much we'll raise on sustainable markets for our
own lending as well. Now what that's given as well
is assurance to investors as well and a degree of
comfort as well. Now ESG investors have to look at
probably thousands of estery reports. Now, Grace, I love reading
issue reports in the evenings. You can imagining the sparkling
conversationist I am, yeah, absolutely fascinating, but I need a
(09:24):
few hundred pages long. So what ISO speed does is
standardize those EESU reports. It makes my evenings a little
bit lighter, unfortunately, But actually what that means is investors
can now look at information as a standardized way as well.
And finally, I'd love to mention Q and B as well.
Gatar National Bank also publish their inaugural is to Speed
report as well, and again, what we're seeing there is
(09:46):
the region really pushing on those global standards as well
and being becoming leaders.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
I think, as you mentioned, the standardization is a key
part of the puzzle. It is definitely something when we're
looking to kind of compare banks or investors are looking
like some of the metrics are challenging to kind of
make good comparisons or fair comparisons between the two, because
you mentioned there's a lot of different calculations for finance emissions.
But it's very positive to hear that it was potentially
(10:13):
more straightforward than initially thought. If that's fair to say.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I think it's definitely fair to say, and I think
it's simplifying and consolida kind of sustainability upporting because actually,
if you've gotten a short report, you should kind of
put everything in there, because actually a lot of what
we've seen in the last few years is different sustainability reports,
of different tricks, different standards being used, the kind of
(10:38):
ESG alphabet soup that you mentioned earlier as well. It's
actually simplifying that would really welcome, and we found rss
speed to become that template, and then actually we could
add CSRD and everything else in there. As well.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, I think it's fantastic, and I think what's interesting
is what we've seen in some other regions. It's where
that where banks are able to be more transparent or
linked to her framework, that actually seeing kind of greeniums
associated even with that, I'd be interested to hear what
you're seeing within the region in terms of greeniams. And
(11:10):
also just on that point, I think actually Amritza amid
Raise issued the Regions Versus Namily Linked Loan Financing bond
which was fully IKMA aligned to that framework last year.
I think I've read that was about nearly nearly four
times I've subscribed. So I'm just curious, are you seeing
(11:30):
greenams more broadly in the region as there's more supply
of kind of sustainable finance products. Do you think that
this will be kind of a differentiating factor having that
level of kind of accountability alignment.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
I think yeah, I think it will really well do.
And I think what it brought for us is a
wider spread of investors, which is really really welcome deeper
green investors as well, which again was fantastic grems. I
would say it varied, It kind of varies periods to
period as well. We really really really pleased with the issues.
As you mentioned, it was heavily oversubscribed, and it was
(12:01):
really interesting because it was the first SLB, as you mentioned,
linked to the Ichman Principles as well. So it took
about twelve weeks for the team to do and you know,
great work by the team as well, and great work
by our partners as well across the entire group. But
actually what it gave is a level of visibility for
investors of the caliber and quality of sustainable link loans
(12:24):
and sometimes questions on the ambitiousness of those loans, the
linkages to Iqman Principles and SDGs, and we're able to
really demonstrate actually these are really ambitious kpiist know the
region is really financing really high quality projects as well.
Now on our ROATO, we had a few questions this
isn't SLB, so actually we need to get over some
(12:45):
of those helders as well to say this is an
sl LB, slightly unfortunately named. Probably should come up with
a better name for that as well. That's change a letter,
change a letter. It kind of adds alphabet soup and
so you take away and you kind of add But
actually what it allowed is again investors have come in
early in investment process and look at what we're financing, and
actually what we're seeing across the region is an increase
(13:07):
of sustaming loans as well, because again we are those
trusted partners of the clients as well, they are asking
for more of their conventional financing to become sustainable financing
and actually trying to understand what qualifies as well.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I think it's interesting also as you're kind of gaining
momentum in the region, you've probably seen some of the
where there's been hurdles maybe for European banks and points
where things like snaming link loans have come on more
scrutiny around where the KPI is versus the impact. So
it's quite interesting almost to learn from things that I've
gone ahead as well. I actually think I was reading
(13:39):
that Amrich Semid was involved in the older properties. It
was their sustainably linked unsecured revolving credit facility of like
two point four or five billion. So it's interesting to
see in a sect of like real estate development, where
obviously there's a lot going on in the region, that
there's that kind of appetite for having those sustainability link
products and things like that, and as you mentioned, the
you a increase they're nationally determined contribution, I think targeting
(14:02):
forty seven percent emissions cut by twenty thirty five. And
then as you said, one of the few countries to
kind of increase that level of commitment and things like
tripling their renewables capacity by twenty thirty Where are you
seeing the kind of real opportunities for value creation and
light of these new climate commitments, where's the finance being allocated?
Is that the renewables, the real estate? Really interested to
(14:24):
kind of see where the finance is flying, where the
opportunities are.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
So yeah, I think a lot of what you've just
mentioned as well. So I think real estate is a
really big sector in the region as well. So we're
seeing the UEE continual expand and the UEE is becoming
a home for more and more people as well. Alongside that,
the ue has actually got quite strict rules around green buildings,
and when we think about the temperature being some of
the highest in the world, actually makes a lot of
(14:47):
sense to have a really je efficient building. And actually,
but what we're seeing is the scaling up of that.
So actually rather than building one or two buildings. It's
actually suburbs linked by transport, you know, linked to the
extension of the metro line. So if we imagine saying
in London at the Metropolitan Line extended in the thirties,
(15:09):
actually imagine building green suburb after green suburb after green suburb,
and more high density neighborhoods. That's what's happening in the
UE and GCC as a whole as well. I think
coupled with that as well, I think the UI is
now top five in the world for green buildings. Oh wow,
and that's according to I think the lead certified American
(15:31):
Green build Council as well now and actually typically it's
actually the question that came back from the UI's like
why don't we number one? How do we kind of
get that? But that shows a scale of ambition as well.
I think coupled with green buildings, as you mentioned, is
renewed energy. So actually renewable energy in the region is
really decarbonizing from Saudi Cup the Bahrain as well as
(15:51):
the UE as well, and a man building more solar
Again to listeners out, there's no great surprise when you
think of a region if you have a lot of sun,
very blessed with sunshine, so actually and that cost of
implementation is really really low, and again the infrastructure is
really new again and so can take that load as well.
What we're also seeing as well is the battery storage
(16:13):
technology as well to manage some of that load as well.
And again the projects are some of the largest, so
you know, we hank Finance one of the largest, the
largest single site solar plant on the world, and we're
seeing so much more come on stream, from hydrogen to
ammonia to solar as well through our pipeline, through other
banks pipelines as well, and then finally we're seeing sustainable
(16:34):
finance shifting as well. We always focus on net zero
and I again have been guilty of doing that today,
but actually when we think about the region, we don't think
about rainfall, but we're seeing more climate adptation coming through
as well. We did see the rainfall in the UE
last year as well, and there's been a huge amount
of investment infrastructure across the region around climate adaptation and
(16:55):
resilience as well. And finally as well, thinking about water
scarcity as well, thinking about so social finance as well,
and again the region has really focused on expansion sustainable
finance in the spaces around sustainability projects focus on social
issues as well as looking at water scarcity and efficiency
as well.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, it's super interesting and it's actually something I was
going to come on to around kind of where you're
seeing kind of emerging sustainable finance products, and we're definitely
globally seeing that kind of increase focus on water scarcity, biodiversity,
things like the Blue Bonds, adaptation finance gaining traction, but
I guess it's particularly focused within the region, things like
(17:33):
water scarce TYA and perhaps investing in conservation of water
is going to be pretty key to kind of economic security.
So curious to kind of hear what innovations you're seeing
that kind of excite you and kind of specific things
within the region as well.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
So yeah, I think water is a big thing. So
the UI is going to be hosting view and Water
conference in next year or so, and that's really sharpening
minds as well on this topic as well. Now almost
all the water comes from the c now that's removed
from desalation, but the ue GCC countries as a whole
are using more renewable energy for that desalation, so actually
(18:11):
reducing the GHG emissions has become a real focused there
as well, but then they're also focused on how do
we say your disposed of the Bryan as well, it
can be quite toxic. And then also the UE and
Saludi delegations were there in presence and allows is Howlding
calling Columbia as well, So the region again is updating
its National Biodiversity Action Plans mb SAPs. I'm just saying
(18:34):
it because there's another acronym and that will again protect
and conserve more of the environment as well. And then
finally as well, we saw Deep World issue the country's
first ever blue bond as well, so that again we're
seeing more and more companies, through EMERSMD and through other
partners as well, come in and looking at water conservation,
(18:54):
looking at water scarcity and thinking about water as sustainable finance.
And again as the region evolves and grows as well,
actually people realize, oh, actually we are investing in sustainable
initiatives as well. So I think blue bonds is the
key area to watch water conservation and water efficiency. It's
definitely very as well.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, it's actually interesting what you're saying there around kind
of having to use a lot of energy for the
things like desalination, And we actually just did a piece
of work on banks financed water intensity, and a common
thing we saw actually is some of the industries that
are particularly highly exposed to intense water use, like power
and things like that. There's actually a hard balance to
play between decarbonizing, so your finance emissions and also reducing
(19:38):
your finance water intensity and some of those renewable solutions
to use a lot of water and exposing banks to
kind of water risks and things like that. So there's
quite an interesting interplay between some of the different issues
or risks or opportunities even that are having to be
balanced as well. I guess given that we're focusing on
this region, it's important to kind of talk about things
(19:59):
like GSS skook issuance. I think at the beginning of
this year we actually saw a ten percent increase from
what we saw the PRY. In Q one of twenty
twenty five, we saw about four point three billion dollars
of gsscook assurance. What are you seeing in terms of
kind of rising demand for Islamic sustainable bonds and their
impact on investment strategies.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
So, I think, as you mentioned as well, it's growth.
It's a story of growth as well. And actually the
GCC is the largest market for sustainable socooks in the world. Now,
what we're seeing, particularly in the UE in sally markets
is more guidance of what qualifies to be a sustainable
so cook as well. We've also seen as well the
market and some of the regulators as for growth plans
(20:41):
as well of Islamic sustainable finance. Now, what we've done, say,
for example, amazemer D is again linked to the international standards,
says an international benchmark for investors to see as well.
And our belief and that's matched by other banks in
the region as well, is that that international benchmarks allows
more investors to kind of WINSLA the language of investment
(21:01):
as well as the Sharia elements as well. And what
I would say in terms of Sharia, there's a lot
of focus on the social So it actually really links
to the s side of ESG and I think about
it as community banking in a kind of European sense.
That's the kind of Islamic sharrier essence if you were.
Now we're seeing increased growth as well in that market,
(21:22):
and it's an increased pool liquidity as well, and we're
seeing also more companies around the world also looking for
cooks from European sources, North American sources as well, So
again the market is evolving and definitely growing as well.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah, it's really interesting to see how it's evolving. And
I think previously when we weren't looking strictly at kind
of like volumes of sustainable finance or sustainable circoc issuance,
but we were looking at things that they were kind
of would exclude, like I believe it's like tobacco and
gambling and alcohol and alcohol. So I had that really
strong kind of social lens and actually something I should
(21:58):
have started with just because we need to kind of
work to debunk things within this podcast, could you just
give a really high level, kind of somewher of what
a subcook is, just for those people that may not
be oh woah.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
A su cook is very similar to a bond, I
would say that, however, it's got the added sharier element
of scrutiny as well, the use of prose as well
as you mentioned, and the exclusions. So if you think
about it in a sustainable finance sense, its mirrors a
lot about scrutiny as well. But it's got a great
history and kind of bounding as well with the religion
of Islam as well. Now, what we've seen with this
(22:32):
cook market as well, particularly from a region is people
are very used to it as well, so people like
to issue intercooks and again there's a lot of liquidity
in the market to invest in their cooks, so often
becomes a primary source of funding for corporates.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Interesting. No, I think it's really interesting to see how
that's evolving. And as you said, we're seeing growing demand
from other regions within the world, which is interesting to
see how that's going to evolve. I guess, kind of
looping back round to something we discussed kind of at
the beginning, we are kind of seeing a different pace
and momentum and enthusiasm around kind of sustainable finance, whereas
(23:07):
in other regions of the world we're seeing maybe a
potential stepping away. I think I've just read that RBC
have been no longer working tow us a sameable finance
target and the US banks stepping away from the Necessary
Banking Alliance votes a one point five degrees. How do
you see kind of UA banks positioning themselves in the
global push for sustainable finance. Do you think that this
(23:29):
could actually be a real opportunity for the region to
lead where others are pulling back.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I think it's a really interesting question. I think there's
a lot of components within as well. I think primarily
and I think the primary drivers along the region it's
a profit center. It's a monocult center, it's a profit center.
Many of the UE banks as well have seen sustainable
finance as being a profit center as well, so actually
it makes a huge amount of sense as well. Secondly,
(23:57):
a lot of the GCC countries have an economic diversification
planet as well that goes alongside sustainability because actually, hence
we're seeing renewable investments, hence we're seeing green buildings, Hence
we're seeing slightly changes to visa requirements as well, We're
seeing that pouring in of investment as well, so actually
goes hand in hand as well. So actually that economic
(24:19):
diversification and sustainability are really intermarroed and interwoven in a
way we probably don't see elsewhere in the world. I
think if we then look at the net zero commitments again,
as we mentioned as well, the UE updated its NBC
commitments that promise was made, and we're seeing that the
countries of a region will meet or exceed for his
(24:40):
promises as well, and that's always the pattern in the region.
To really look at it as well, we think of
the UI think of vertically towards building and world I
think in largest solar sites in the world as well.
The region is really trying to build the biggest infrastructure
in the world as well, So we're not going to
see that kind of change in a ve near term
as well. In regards to net zero Banking Alliance, a
(25:02):
number of banks in the region are aligned to net
zero Banking Alliance, and again because we're aligned, the others
are if you're aligned to the NDC commitments, you're aligned
to certain scenarios and certain temperature scenarios as well. And finally,
actually the region really thinks about climate riskin is like
a different way. So actually climate risk is different in
different parts of the world. So whereas if there's rainfall
(25:22):
in May in the UK where we are now, we
kind of think, yes, kind of it's a rainy May.
Actually if there's lots of rain, that can be quite
damaging as well. So actually, hence why there's more investment
in climate risk and adaptation as well, and again the
ministries are giving guidance around us as well. So we're
going to see a slight change and a regional lens
(25:44):
of how we're looking at sustainble finance and how we're
looking at net zero. But again, I do think it's
bucking that global trend as well, but again because it's
focused on profit center not so much a concenter. If
that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Yeah, absolutely, that one hundred percent makes sense, and always
obviously looking to loop back to what's the financial materiality
of this, and that kind of diversification doesn't mean that
it's not value creation. It is value creation. So I
think it's interesting to see how that evolve and how
it will be, as you say, regionally specific, how it's
(26:17):
shaped as well going forward. I guess if I had
one question to kind of wrap things up a little bit,
what do you think is the most kind of key
component that will enable this kind of acceleration within the region.
Other things like do you think it's kind of regulatory harmonization,
capacity building, or I guess other areas like improving the
(26:37):
quality and accessibility to issue data. All things that we
see and other regions have been quite significant challenges and
still are challenges, and just curious what you think will
be the kind of key thing going forward that are
not even more momentum going forward.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
It's a really great question. I think it's probably a
few elements. I think regional harmonization is really key, and
I think of the region as a whole as well.
I do think of say a taxonomy, a GCC taxonomy
will be incredibly useful. So actually we have very similar
definitions for what's sustainable what's not. I think the second
part is really focusing on a just transition, and I
(27:13):
think that's maybe where we've not seen integration elsewhere in
the world. When you know you add renewable energy, say
in Europe, actually people's entery prices go up. People naturally
kind of say renewable energies increase my price of my bill.
I won't mention the companies, but yeah, So what I
would say is a focus on just transition will really
(27:36):
jet fuel this for the future as well. And I
think finally, I think what the RETAI has pundit is
confidence as well, confidence in the ability, and I think
where the region's really connected to europe global markets as
well as eat saser as well, so actually what we're
seeing is the unit price of solars continuing to come down.
The unit price of transformers are coming down. Every day
in the Bay, I see a different Chinese EV or
(27:59):
on a manufacturer, a local EV manufacturer as well. So
actually being open to those global trade routes sence technologies
will bring down that cost of the transformation and that's
going to continue as well. So finally, i'd say it's
looking like a really bright future for sustainability in the
region as well.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Yeah, it sounds like there's a lot of exciting things
to come, a lot of momentum and even just interesting
thing about that kind of the geographical position of it,
how well placed it is to kind of drive growth
in US. We're seeing kind of global as you're saying,
like the Chinese evs and everything coming through the pathway
that there's a pretty exciting pathway ahead, I think for
(28:36):
sustainable finance in the region. So thank you so much,
really really enjoyed the conversation so much.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Great.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
You can find more information on sustainable finance and other
key ESG topics by going to BI Sustainable Debt on
the ESG team dashboard. By entering b ESG go on
the Bloomberg terminal. If you have an ESG quandary or
burning questions you would like to ask bi's expert analysts,
send us an email at est currents at bloomberg dot net.
(29:02):
Thank you, and we look forward to the next episode.
ESG has become established as a key business theme as
companies and investors seek to navigate the climate crisis, energy transition,
social mega trends, mounting regulatory attention and pressure from other stakeholders.
The rapidly evolving landscape has become inundated with buzzwords and lingo,
and we aim to break these down with industry experts.
Welcome to ESG Currents, your guide to navigating the evolving
(00:31):
ESG space, one topic at a time, brought to you
by Bloomberg Intelligence, parts of Bloomberg's research department, with five
hundred analysts of strategers who working across all major world markets.
I am Grace Osborne, the a mere ESG integration Analyst.
In today's episode, we're diving into the rise of sustainable
finance in the Mena region, where financial institutions are stepping
(00:53):
up as powerful drivers of change. Banks in the UE
are leading the charge with UE Banking Federation and pledging
two hundred and seventy billion dollars in green finance by
twenty thirty from national banks, which will be pivotal in
supporting the country and meeting its climate targets. Across the GCC,
green investments from renewables to real estate is estimated to
(01:15):
add two trillion dollars to regional GDP by the end
of this decade. Joining us is VJ Bains Group, Chief
Sustainability Officer and head of ESG at Emirates MBD, one
of the Middle East leading banking groups with over twenty
years of global experience including the European Bank of Reconstruction
and Development and World Bank. Alongside a seat on multiple
(01:38):
regional and global sustainability councils, from the UA Banking Federation
Sustainability Leadership Council to the World Economic Forum of Sustainability
leaders VJ is playing an integrale in shaping the future
of finance in the region. VJ welcome, it's great to
have you with us. Thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Thank you, Grace. So it's great to be here and
talking about sustainable finance in the region as well.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So maybe just kick off and set the scene. Could
you tell us a little bit more about your involvement
is sustainable finance and I guess from your advantage point,
how sustainable finance is evolving in the region.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Thanks so much, and it's a great question. So I
lead Sustainable finance for Emerates NBD group where leading GCC
bank and what that means is from funding to financing
that comes through our desk, and what that means is
looking at when we raise capital, working with our group
funding teams and group corporate affairs teams, through to financing
(02:34):
with clients, and also making assessments as well of our
asset management team of what assets are green and what
our social and also where we shall really be focused
on as well. The most interesting part of my job
is probably really focus on clients and really transforming our
conventional financing into increasing sustainable finance, and finally looking at
(02:55):
our corporate strategy as a whole and our own net
zero pathway as well.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
I think we're seeing so much kind of momentum in
the region and it'd be kind of interesting to hear
what you're seeing happening more broadly in the region as well.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Expansion. I think that's the most simple way expansion. I
think the region is really bucking the global trend for
sustainable finance. So for EMSMBD as well ourselves, this quarter
has been the busiest quarter we've seen. That's fantastic. Now
that's been really fueled by the UE host and COPP
that really galvanized support for sustainable finance, for net zero
(03:29):
and also for the UEE energy commitments. Now that's been
mirrored as well in Saudi and in other countries in
the region as part of the economic diversification strategy. Finally
as well, actually there's probably now one hundred chief sustainability
officers for the major corporates in the region as well.
So actually what that means is each company has integrated
sustainability into their corporate strategy and they've realized that's a
(03:52):
new language through which they can really HARMSS the power
and speak about a global voice of sustainability, about NETZ
and about their own commitments as well.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Yeah, I think it's so interesting actually in the context
of what's going on globally. Was over in Dubai at
the end of the last year, and the kind of
momentum and energy is absolutely purple in space, I think,
in a kind of a different way to obviously what
we're seeing maybe some retraction in other areas of the world.
And I think what's interesting is that maybe previously in
(04:22):
the sustainable finance space it's more focus on sovereigns, are
now the banks, particularly in the UAA are really emerging
as front runners, particularly with that commitment, and we mentioned
the one trillion derems and sustainable finance by twenty thirty
from national banks, and we've seen I think, as you mentioned,
other countries are move forward within the region. Even I
think Qatar has their central bank has launched its drive
(04:44):
to kind of get DOA as like a lead financial
set to sustainability strategy, kind of placing it as a
lead green finance hub. So it's clearly importance of the
role of banks. How do you think banks are kind
of driving the issue agenda for within the region.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
I think, as you said, that one training commitment has
really galvanized the local banks to stop to have a
look at our own portfolios. So many of us now
have made those commitments, are now translating it into relationship
manager discussions, into doing industrial analysis. But further now as well,
as you just mentioned, there's a lot of regional growth
as well. So for us, actually we're huge investor in
(05:22):
the UE sustainability actually seeing the fastest growth probably in
Saudi as well, and that's you know, part of the
Saudi hydrogen strategy, part of the UE hydrogen strategy, part
of the NDC commitments as well, but we're updated early
this year and the UU was the first of ten
countries in the world including the UK, to update and
increase this NDC commitments. So many of the countries in
(05:44):
the region actually look to each other for inspiration and
I have to say kind of growing and cooperation as
well amongst GCC countries. I think finally as well, it's
really a lot of the banks are now saying that
it's part of kind of the corporate identity as well
for the banks as well to link into the EU
funds to get financing as companies go to IPO as well,
(06:08):
and we've seen as well the UE leading for global
IPOs as well. You need to have an eacy strategy,
you need to have a sustainable finance strategy, and you
need to answer a lot of those questions as well.
So actually for us as banks, it's often advising on
the IPO strategies, on the syndicating bonds, but increasingly on
loans as well. And what that means is we're going
from financier to advisor as well, and that's an amazing
(06:31):
place to be as well, because a lot of these
relationships are very deep seeded where the countries are growing
up together, the banks have grown up together, so the
banks have really seen as trusted partners to advise the
companies on what is sustainable and what isn't sustainable as well.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Yeah. Absolutely, I think that's so exciting actually to be
able to kind of shape a little bit the direction
that things are going, and as you say, have that
kind of advisory role beyond just kind of providing the financing.
I guess then obviously it's fantastic we're seeing the volume increase,
but a key part is also having that kind of
impact and transparency and integrity. I believe that emerates. MRID
(07:09):
was the first bank in the region, or is the
first bank in the region to publish an independent ISSB
report that was aligned with FRS S one and S two.
Can you tell us a little bit more about the
metrics that are published in this and why transparency and
accountability are so important to investors within the kind of
(07:30):
EESG space the same or finance space.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Yeah, and I em yeah, correct, is the first bank
in the region, and we believe I think maybe the
first bank in the world. We're still checking that as well,
to publish a independent ISSP report wa desurance. So we
checked a few key metrics. One is the linkage to
our own financial statements, so really saying how much sustainable
finance do we take from the global market, so how
(07:55):
much do we raise as well, So that means through
our own sustainable link loan bond, sustainable bonds as well
as sustainable loans as well, and that goes into our
own debt financing. So actually making that financial statement linkage
was absolutely really key and actually we talked to a
number of other banks of actually, if you do this,
you can kind of link it quite easily, so it's
not as difficult and I think that everyone listening it's
(08:17):
not as difficult as we might imagine. The second one
was actually going to our finance submissions, so actually getting
independent assurance on our finance submissions from KPMG as well,
and what that means is looking at our methodology, looking
at our calculations off which there's tens of thousands of
calculations for finance submissions. It's quite a heavy piece of
work as well, and our risk and ESGY teams do
(08:40):
fantastic workfare as well, and looking at how we do
those calculations. Why is that important because we need to
update our emissions calclations on an annual basis as well
using a peacaff methodology, and also show that net zero
pathway as well. And finally, as well, what we also
looked at is some of the key statements as well
that we've made as well, just to make sure those
are assured as well, where we've made sustainable finance numbers
(09:03):
or how much we'll raise on sustainable markets for our
own lending as well. Now what that's given as well
is assurance to investors as well and a degree of
comfort as well. Now ESG investors have to look at
probably thousands of estery reports. Now, Grace, I love reading
issue reports in the evenings. You can imagining the sparkling
conversationist I am, yeah, absolutely fascinating, but I need a
(09:24):
few hundred pages long. So what ISO speed does is
standardize those EESU reports. It makes my evenings a little
bit lighter, unfortunately, But actually what that means is investors
can now look at information as a standardized way as well.
And finally, I'd love to mention Q and B as well.
Gatar National Bank also publish their inaugural is to Speed
report as well, and again, what we're seeing there is
(09:46):
the region really pushing on those global standards as well
and being becoming leaders.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
I think, as you mentioned, the standardization is a key
part of the puzzle. It is definitely something when we're
looking to kind of compare banks or investors are looking
like some of the metrics are challenging to kind of
make good comparisons or fair comparisons between the two, because
you mentioned there's a lot of different calculations for finance emissions.
But it's very positive to hear that it was potentially
(10:13):
more straightforward than initially thought. If that's fair to say.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I think it's definitely fair to say, and I think
it's simplifying and consolida kind of sustainability upporting because actually,
if you've gotten a short report, you should kind of
put everything in there, because actually a lot of what
we've seen in the last few years is different sustainability reports,
of different tricks, different standards being used, the kind of
(10:38):
ESG alphabet soup that you mentioned earlier as well. It's
actually simplifying that would really welcome, and we found rss
speed to become that template, and then actually we could
add CSRD and everything else in there. As well.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Yeah, I think it's fantastic, and I think what's interesting
is what we've seen in some other regions. It's where
that where banks are able to be more transparent or
linked to her framework, that actually seeing kind of greeniums
associated even with that, I'd be interested to hear what
you're seeing within the region in terms of greeniams. And
(11:10):
also just on that point, I think actually Amritza amid
Raise issued the Regions Versus Namily Linked Loan Financing bond
which was fully IKMA aligned to that framework last year.
I think I've read that was about nearly nearly four
times I've subscribed. So I'm just curious, are you seeing
(11:30):
greenams more broadly in the region as there's more supply
of kind of sustainable finance products. Do you think that
this will be kind of a differentiating factor having that
level of kind of accountability alignment.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
I think yeah, I think it will really well do.
And I think what it brought for us is a
wider spread of investors, which is really really welcome deeper
green investors as well, which again was fantastic grems. I
would say it varied, It kind of varies periods to
period as well. We really really really pleased with the issues.
As you mentioned, it was heavily oversubscribed, and it was
(12:01):
really interesting because it was the first SLB, as you mentioned,
linked to the Ichman Principles as well. So it took
about twelve weeks for the team to do and you know,
great work by the team as well, and great work
by our partners as well across the entire group. But
actually what it gave is a level of visibility for
investors of the caliber and quality of sustainable link loans
(12:24):
and sometimes questions on the ambitiousness of those loans, the
linkages to Iqman Principles and SDGs, and we're able to
really demonstrate actually these are really ambitious kpiist know the
region is really financing really high quality projects as well.
Now on our ROATO, we had a few questions this
isn't SLB, so actually we need to get over some
(12:45):
of those helders as well to say this is an
sl LB, slightly unfortunately named. Probably should come up with
a better name for that as well. That's change a letter,
change a letter. It kind of adds alphabet soup and
so you take away and you kind of add But
actually what it allowed is again investors have come in
early in investment process and look at what we're financing, and
actually what we're seeing across the region is an increase
(13:07):
of sustaming loans as well, because again we are those
trusted partners of the clients as well, they are asking
for more of their conventional financing to become sustainable financing
and actually trying to understand what qualifies as well.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
I think it's interesting also as you're kind of gaining
momentum in the region, you've probably seen some of the
where there's been hurdles maybe for European banks and points
where things like snaming link loans have come on more
scrutiny around where the KPI is versus the impact. So
it's quite interesting almost to learn from things that I've
gone ahead as well. I actually think I was reading
(13:39):
that Amrich Semid was involved in the older properties. It
was their sustainably linked unsecured revolving credit facility of like
two point four or five billion. So it's interesting to
see in a sect of like real estate development, where
obviously there's a lot going on in the region, that
there's that kind of appetite for having those sustainability link
products and things like that, and as you mentioned, the
you a increase they're nationally determined contribution, I think targeting
(14:02):
forty seven percent emissions cut by twenty thirty five. And
then as you said, one of the few countries to
kind of increase that level of commitment and things like
tripling their renewables capacity by twenty thirty Where are you
seeing the kind of real opportunities for value creation and
light of these new climate commitments, where's the finance being allocated?
Is that the renewables, the real estate? Really interested to
(14:24):
kind of see where the finance is flying, where the
opportunities are.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
So yeah, I think a lot of what you've just
mentioned as well. So I think real estate is a
really big sector in the region as well. So we're
seeing the UEE continual expand and the UEE is becoming
a home for more and more people as well. Alongside that,
the ue has actually got quite strict rules around green buildings,
and when we think about the temperature being some of
the highest in the world, actually makes a lot of
(14:47):
sense to have a really je efficient building. And actually,
but what we're seeing is the scaling up of that.
So actually rather than building one or two buildings. It's
actually suburbs linked by transport, you know, linked to the
extension of the metro line. So if we imagine saying
in London at the Metropolitan Line extended in the thirties,
(15:09):
actually imagine building green suburb after green suburb after green suburb,
and more high density neighborhoods. That's what's happening in the
UE and GCC as a whole as well. I think
coupled with that as well, I think the UI is
now top five in the world for green buildings. Oh wow,
and that's according to I think the lead certified American
(15:31):
Green build Council as well now and actually typically it's
actually the question that came back from the UI's like
why don't we number one? How do we kind of
get that? But that shows a scale of ambition as well.
I think coupled with green buildings, as you mentioned, is
renewed energy. So actually renewable energy in the region is
really decarbonizing from Saudi Cup the Bahrain as well as
(15:51):
the UE as well, and a man building more solar
Again to listeners out, there's no great surprise when you
think of a region if you have a lot of sun,
very blessed with sunshine, so actually and that cost of
implementation is really really low, and again the infrastructure is
really new again and so can take that load as well.
What we're also seeing as well is the battery storage
(16:13):
technology as well to manage some of that load as well.
And again the projects are some of the largest, so
you know, we hank Finance one of the largest, the
largest single site solar plant on the world, and we're
seeing so much more come on stream, from hydrogen to
ammonia to solar as well through our pipeline, through other
banks pipelines as well, and then finally we're seeing sustainable
(16:34):
finance shifting as well. We always focus on net zero
and I again have been guilty of doing that today,
but actually when we think about the region, we don't think
about rainfall, but we're seeing more climate adptation coming through
as well. We did see the rainfall in the UE
last year as well, and there's been a huge amount
of investment infrastructure across the region around climate adaptation and
(16:55):
resilience as well. And finally as well, thinking about water
scarcity as well, thinking about so social finance as well,
and again the region has really focused on expansion sustainable
finance in the spaces around sustainability projects focus on social
issues as well as looking at water scarcity and efficiency
as well.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Yeah, it's super interesting and it's actually something I was
going to come on to around kind of where you're
seeing kind of emerging sustainable finance products, and we're definitely
globally seeing that kind of increase focus on water scarcity, biodiversity,
things like the Blue Bonds, adaptation finance gaining traction, but
I guess it's particularly focused within the region, things like
(17:33):
water scarce TYA and perhaps investing in conservation of water
is going to be pretty key to kind of economic security.
So curious to kind of hear what innovations you're seeing
that kind of excite you and kind of specific things
within the region as well.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
So yeah, I think water is a big thing. So
the UI is going to be hosting view and Water
conference in next year or so, and that's really sharpening
minds as well on this topic as well. Now almost
all the water comes from the c now that's removed
from desalation, but the ue GCC countries as a whole
are using more renewable energy for that desalation, so actually
(18:11):
reducing the GHG emissions has become a real focused there
as well, but then they're also focused on how do
we say your disposed of the Bryan as well, it
can be quite toxic. And then also the UE and
Saludi delegations were there in presence and allows is Howlding
calling Columbia as well, So the region again is updating
its National Biodiversity Action Plans mb SAPs. I'm just saying
(18:34):
it because there's another acronym and that will again protect
and conserve more of the environment as well. And then
finally as well, we saw Deep World issue the country's
first ever blue bond as well, so that again we're
seeing more and more companies, through EMERSMD and through other
partners as well, come in and looking at water conservation,
(18:54):
looking at water scarcity and thinking about water as sustainable finance.
And again as the region evolves and grows as well,
actually people realize, oh, actually we are investing in sustainable
initiatives as well. So I think blue bonds is the
key area to watch water conservation and water efficiency. It's
definitely very as well.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Yeah, it's actually interesting what you're saying there around kind
of having to use a lot of energy for the
things like desalination, And we actually just did a piece
of work on banks financed water intensity, and a common
thing we saw actually is some of the industries that
are particularly highly exposed to intense water use, like power
and things like that. There's actually a hard balance to
play between decarbonizing, so your finance emissions and also reducing
(19:38):
your finance water intensity and some of those renewable solutions
to use a lot of water and exposing banks to
kind of water risks and things like that. So there's
quite an interesting interplay between some of the different issues
or risks or opportunities even that are having to be
balanced as well. I guess given that we're focusing on
this region, it's important to kind of talk about things
(19:59):
like GSS skook issuance. I think at the beginning of
this year we actually saw a ten percent increase from
what we saw the PRY. In Q one of twenty
twenty five, we saw about four point three billion dollars
of gsscook assurance. What are you seeing in terms of
kind of rising demand for Islamic sustainable bonds and their
impact on investment strategies.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
So, I think, as you mentioned as well, it's growth.
It's a story of growth as well. And actually the
GCC is the largest market for sustainable socooks in the world. Now,
what we're seeing, particularly in the UE in sally markets
is more guidance of what qualifies to be a sustainable
so cook as well. We've also seen as well the
market and some of the regulators as for growth plans
(20:41):
as well of Islamic sustainable finance. Now, what we've done, say,
for example, amazemer D is again linked to the international standards,
says an international benchmark for investors to see as well.
And our belief and that's matched by other banks in
the region as well, is that that international benchmarks allows
more investors to kind of WINSLA the language of investment
(21:01):
as well as the Sharia elements as well. And what
I would say in terms of Sharia, there's a lot
of focus on the social So it actually really links
to the s side of ESG and I think about
it as community banking in a kind of European sense.
That's the kind of Islamic sharrier essence if you were.
Now we're seeing increased growth as well in that market,
(21:22):
and it's an increased pool liquidity as well, and we're
seeing also more companies around the world also looking for
cooks from European sources, North American sources as well, So
again the market is evolving and definitely growing as well.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Yeah, it's really interesting to see how it's evolving. And
I think previously when we weren't looking strictly at kind
of like volumes of sustainable finance or sustainable circoc issuance,
but we were looking at things that they were kind
of would exclude, like I believe it's like tobacco and
gambling and alcohol and alcohol. So I had that really
strong kind of social lens and actually something I should
(21:58):
have started with just because we need to kind of
work to debunk things within this podcast, could you just
give a really high level, kind of somewher of what
a subcook is, just for those people that may not
be oh woah.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
A su cook is very similar to a bond, I
would say that, however, it's got the added sharier element
of scrutiny as well, the use of prose as well
as you mentioned, and the exclusions. So if you think
about it in a sustainable finance sense, its mirrors a
lot about scrutiny as well. But it's got a great
history and kind of bounding as well with the religion
of Islam as well. Now, what we've seen with this
(22:32):
cook market as well, particularly from a region is people
are very used to it as well, so people like
to issue intercooks and again there's a lot of liquidity
in the market to invest in their cooks, so often
becomes a primary source of funding for corporates.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Interesting. No, I think it's really interesting to see how
that's evolving. And as you said, we're seeing growing demand
from other regions within the world, which is interesting to
see how that's going to evolve. I guess, kind of
looping back round to something we discussed kind of at
the beginning, we are kind of seeing a different pace
and momentum and enthusiasm around kind of sustainable finance, whereas
(23:07):
in other regions of the world we're seeing maybe a
potential stepping away. I think I've just read that RBC
have been no longer working tow us a sameable finance
target and the US banks stepping away from the Necessary
Banking Alliance votes a one point five degrees. How do
you see kind of UA banks positioning themselves in the
global push for sustainable finance. Do you think that this
(23:29):
could actually be a real opportunity for the region to
lead where others are pulling back.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
I think it's a really interesting question. I think there's
a lot of components within as well. I think primarily
and I think the primary drivers along the region it's
a profit center. It's a monocult center, it's a profit center.
Many of the UE banks as well have seen sustainable
finance as being a profit center as well, so actually
it makes a huge amount of sense as well. Secondly,
(23:57):
a lot of the GCC countries have an economic diversification
planet as well that goes alongside sustainability because actually, hence
we're seeing renewable investments, hence we're seeing green buildings, Hence
we're seeing slightly changes to visa requirements as well, We're
seeing that pouring in of investment as well, so actually
goes hand in hand as well. So actually that economic
(24:19):
diversification and sustainability are really intermarroed and interwoven in a
way we probably don't see elsewhere in the world. I
think if we then look at the net zero commitments again,
as we mentioned as well, the UE updated its NBC
commitments that promise was made, and we're seeing that the
countries of a region will meet or exceed for his
(24:40):
promises as well, and that's always the pattern in the region.
To really look at it as well, we think of
the UI think of vertically towards building and world I
think in largest solar sites in the world as well.
The region is really trying to build the biggest infrastructure
in the world as well, So we're not going to
see that kind of change in a ve near term
as well. In regards to net zero Banking Alliance, a
(25:02):
number of banks in the region are aligned to net
zero Banking Alliance, and again because we're aligned, the others
are if you're aligned to the NDC commitments, you're aligned
to certain scenarios and certain temperature scenarios as well. And finally,
actually the region really thinks about climate riskin is like
a different way. So actually climate risk is different in
different parts of the world. So whereas if there's rainfall
(25:22):
in May in the UK where we are now, we
kind of think, yes, kind of it's a rainy May.
Actually if there's lots of rain, that can be quite
damaging as well. So actually, hence why there's more investment
in climate risk and adaptation as well, and again the
ministries are giving guidance around us as well. So we're
going to see a slight change and a regional lens
(25:44):
of how we're looking at sustainble finance and how we're
looking at net zero. But again, I do think it's
bucking that global trend as well, but again because it's
focused on profit center not so much a concenter. If
that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Yeah, absolutely, that one hundred percent makes sense, and always
obviously looking to loop back to what's the financial materiality
of this, and that kind of diversification doesn't mean that
it's not value creation. It is value creation. So I
think it's interesting to see how that evolve and how
it will be, as you say, regionally specific, how it's
(26:17):
shaped as well going forward. I guess if I had
one question to kind of wrap things up a little bit,
what do you think is the most kind of key
component that will enable this kind of acceleration within the region.
Other things like do you think it's kind of regulatory harmonization,
capacity building, or I guess other areas like improving the
(26:37):
quality and accessibility to issue data. All things that we
see and other regions have been quite significant challenges and
still are challenges, and just curious what you think will
be the kind of key thing going forward that are
not even more momentum going forward.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
It's a really great question. I think it's probably a
few elements. I think regional harmonization is really key, and
I think of the region as a whole as well.
I do think of say a taxonomy, a GCC taxonomy
will be incredibly useful. So actually we have very similar
definitions for what's sustainable what's not. I think the second
part is really focusing on a just transition, and I
(27:13):
think that's maybe where we've not seen integration elsewhere in
the world. When you know you add renewable energy, say
in Europe, actually people's entery prices go up. People naturally
kind of say renewable energies increase my price of my bill.
I won't mention the companies, but yeah, So what I
would say is a focus on just transition will really
(27:36):
jet fuel this for the future as well. And I
think finally, I think what the RETAI has pundit is
confidence as well, confidence in the ability, and I think
where the region's really connected to europe global markets as
well as eat saser as well, so actually what we're
seeing is the unit price of solars continuing to come down.
The unit price of transformers are coming down. Every day
in the Bay, I see a different Chinese EV or
(27:59):
on a manufacturer, a local EV manufacturer as well. So
actually being open to those global trade routes sence technologies
will bring down that cost of the transformation and that's
going to continue as well. So finally, i'd say it's
looking like a really bright future for sustainability in the
region as well.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Yeah, it sounds like there's a lot of exciting things
to come, a lot of momentum and even just interesting
thing about that kind of the geographical position of it,
how well placed it is to kind of drive growth
in US. We're seeing kind of global as you're saying,
like the Chinese evs and everything coming through the pathway
that there's a pretty exciting pathway ahead, I think for
(28:36):
sustainable finance in the region. So thank you so much,
really really enjoyed the conversation so much.
Speaker 2 (28:41):
Great.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
You can find more information on sustainable finance and other
key ESG topics by going to BI Sustainable Debt on
the ESG team dashboard. By entering b ESG go on
the Bloomberg terminal. If you have an ESG quandary or
burning questions you would like to ask bi's expert analysts,
send us an email at est currents at bloomberg dot net.
(29:02):
Thank you, and we look forward to the next episode.
Host
Eric Kane
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.