ICMA CEO advocates boosting green sukuk to fill climate funding gap

Scaling up the green sukuk will help plug the massive climate funding gap, said Chief Executive of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Bryan Pascoe, addressing the panel discussions on Accelerating Climate Finance through Green and Sustainability Sukuk, held as part of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) annual meetings in Riyadh, Azernews reports.

Sukuk (Islamic bond or “Sharia-compliant” bond) is an Islamic financial certificate that represents a portion of ownership in a portfolio of eligible existing or future assets.

“In recent years, sustainable bonds, mainly green bonds, have emerged as one of the most important instruments to finance the goals of the Paris Agreement. Scaling up green and sustainable sukuk will further help the private and public sectors raise finance to plug the massive climate funding gap, support green local capital market development, and target other environmental and social issues,” he said.

Pascoe noted that today's launch of the guidance for sustainable sukuk is another critical step in establishing and maintaining internationally consistent standards in the key growth segments of sustainable finance and Islamic finance.

“We're very pleased to have been able to collaborate with the Islamic Development Bank and the London Stock Exchange group on this important guidance. We look forward to further engaging with market participants and other stakeholders on sustainable sukuk and hope the new practical guide published today can be another catalyst to finance our journey to net zero,” he added.

The Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) is holding its 2024 Annual Meetings and Golden Jubilee in Riyadh from April 27-30, under the Royal Patronage of the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

The 2024 Annual Meetings are being held under the theme “Cherishing our Past, Charting our Future: Originality, Solidarity, and Prosperity”, which marks IsDB’s 50 years of fostering socio-economic development in its member countries.

Among other topics, the meetings also featured a roundtable on COP29 with the participation of Azerbaijani government representatives.

As the premier South-South multilateral development bank, the 2024 IsDB Group Annual Meetings and Golden Jubilee attract international and regional attention.

The annual meetings feature a series of side events with top-level panellists from government, international and regional organisations, the private sector, academia, and civil society.

Ministers of Economy, Planning, and Finance from IsDB's 57 member countries are participating in the event, along with representatives of international and regional financial institutions, Islamic banks, private sector companies, national and international development finance institutions, international and regional organisations, NGOs, chambers of commerce & Industry, and business councils.