Global Summit: Building Effective Climate Governance for the Islamic Finance Industry

Synopsis:

As the world is grappling with a global pandemic, climate change has not ceased in disrupting businesses. An imminent threat to our natural resources, the livelihood of many and to the world's economy, climate change has created more variables for businesses to take into account. In light of this disruption, regulators and other stakeholders have called upon firms to address climate-change risks and opportunities in their business strategy in an integrated and effective way. Developed on Shariah principles, Islamic finance is worth today more than USD3 trillion and has long been focused on sustainability with the perception that it operates on higher moral standards.

With an assembly of global leaders who are at the forefront of combating climate change, this live session will shed light on the pivotal role of standards in guiding companies to overcome climate threats and build an effective climate governance for the Islamic finance industry.

Discussion Points:

• What steps are being taken by central banks and policy makers in response to climate change?
• What approaches are being adopted by global standard-setting bodies in issuing standards relating to climate change?
• What is the role of Shariah scholars in championing the climate change agenda at the board level?
• What challenges is the Islamic finance industry facing in implementing climate-change standards?

Agenda

Welcome address:

Sunita Rajakumar, Founder and Chairperson of Climate Governance Malaysia (5 min)

Keynote Speaker:

H.E. Dr. Bandar M. H. Hajjar (President, Islamic Development Bank) (15 min)

Panel:

Session 1: Regulators and Policy Makers Panel (60 min)

- Arup Chatterjee, Principal Financial Sector Specialist, Sustainable Development and Climate Change

Department, Asian Development Bank

- Karina Litvack, Non-Executive Director at Eni, Viridor, CFA Institute and BSR

- Sohail Zubairi, Senior Advisor, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC)

Moderator: Daud Vicary, Advisory Board Chairman, IslamicMarkets.com

Session 2: Industry Panel (60 min)

- Blake Goud, CEO, RFI Foundation

- Arsalaan (Oz) Ahmed, CEO Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia

- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aznan Hasan, Deputy Chairman, Shariah Advisory Council of Securities Commission Malaysia

Moderator: Margie Ong, CEO, Thoughts in Gear

“The world’s first green sukuk was issued in June 2017 in Malaysia – the world’s most developed Islamic finance market – when Tadau Energy raised RM250m ($59m) for the financing of a solar power plant in the eastern state of Sabah. The government of Indonesia followed suit the following year, raising $1.25bn in the world’s first sovereign green sukuk, followed by a $750m issuance in 2019.

In May 2019, Dubai-based real estate firm Majid Al Futtaim raised $600m in the first green sukuk of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) region, with the issue six times oversubscribed. It followed up with another issue in October. Then in November 2019, the Islamic Development Bank issued the world’s first AAA-rated green sukuk, raising €1bn.

Mr Hajjar says: “The issuance was successfully executed on the basis of our ground-breaking sustainable finance framework, with the use of proceeds being exclusively allocated to projects for renewable energy, clean transportation, energy efficiency, pollution prevention and control, environmentally sustainable management of natural living resources and land use, and sustainable water and wastewater management across our 57 member countries.”

https://www.thebanker.com/World/Crossroads-where-sharia-financing-meets-ESG

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