Name: A Lens Into Climate Risks Resilience & MSMEs: Insights For Banks & Insurers
Start: 2025-03-05T12:00:00Z
End: 2025-03-05T12:01:33.000Z
Location: BrightTALK
Rating: 5

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is a partnership between United Nations Environment and the global financial sector created in the wake of the 1992 Earth Summit with a mission to promote sustainable finance. More than 240 financial institutions, including banks, insurers, and investors, work with UN Environment to understand today’s environmental, social and governance challenges, why they matter to finance, and how to actively participate in addressing them.

UNEP FI’s work also includes a strong focus on policy – by facilitating country-level dialogues between finance practitioners, supervisors, regulators and policy-makers, and, at the international level, by promoting financial sector involvement in processes such as the global climate negotiations.

As climate risks grow, it’s increasingly important for both communities and banks to develop strong adaptation and resilience strategies. Banks play a vital role in funding climate solutions and also in strengthening their own operations and portfolios against these risks.
 
This webinar will introduce a new publication, "Practical guidance on implementing adaptation and resilience for banks," created specifically for banking professionals. It provides clear steps to help banks incorporate climate adaptation and resilience into their risk management and business growth plans.
 
The guidance includes practical examples and recommendations to support banks and credit institutions in managing climate risks effectively while creating opportunities for sustainable growth.

Principles for Responsible Banking adaptation and resilience implementation guidance launch

Following the UN Ocean Conference and the Blue Economy and Finance Forum last month, momentum for sustainable blue finance is set to grow further. Part of the New Green Shoots webinar series, this special session on blue finance will highlight cutting-edge innovations for ocean-positive outcomes.

This session will focus on the key insights coming out of these events and what the growing blue finance wave means for financial institutions. The discussion will highlight the cornerstone principles, frameworks, and guidance that can build investor confidence for the ocean and ensure that finance is sustainable, accessible, and equitable. Partners will also highlight the #BackBlue Ocean Finance Commitment, which ensures that a regenerating and sustainable ocean has a seat at the table in finance and insurance decisions.

Featuring experts from UNEP FI, ORRAA, financial institutions, and industry, this webinar will explore how financial institutions and corporates can ride the wave of momentum from the UN Ocean Conference and build actionable strategies to embed ocean-positive and nature-positive solutions to advance healthy people, planet, and profit.

Innovations in blue finance: What’s next after the UN Ocean Conference?

Based on an upcoming Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and International Labour Organization (ILO) guidance, this webinar will support banks in understanding how they can promote decent and inclusive employment through their financial activities, while minimizing potential adverse impacts on workers.

Through real-world examples, the session will highlight the strategic role banks can play in advancing decent work. It will explore how institutions can strengthen internal processes and policies, develop and tailor products and services, and engage with clients, as well as collaborate with public and private partners to drive meaningful change.

Speakers
- Rie Vejs-kjeldgaard, Director of the Department of Sustainable Enterprises, ILO
- Livio Sarandrea, Business and Human Rights Global Policy Advisor, UNDP
- Namit Agarwal, Social Lead, The World Benchmark Alliance (WBA)
- Jana Svedova, Senior Sustainability Strategy Advisor, The Entrepreneurial Development Finance (FMO)
- Giorgia Varello, Human Rights Specialist, ABN Amro
- Tonna Ezema Head, Sustainable Banking Risk Management, Fidelity Bank Nigeria
- Roger H Germer, Managing Director, The Sustainable Construction Sector Initiative

Moderators
- Emily Sims, Senior Specialis, ILO
- Magdalena Garcia Elorrio, Social and Human Rights Specialist, UNEP FI

Financing decent work: How can banks set targets and take action?

Accelerating private finance engagement in climate adaptation

This webinar series is part of the Climate Adaptation Innovation Learning (CAIL) project, a global initiative that accelerates private sector engagement in climate adaptation through collaboration, innovation, and knowledge sharing.

Join us for this interactive session to learn about how UNEP FI is supporting the financial sector to advance climate change adaptation, with a focus on improving the understanding and use of adaptation-related information flows to help unlock financing, particularly in developing and emerging markets. 

CAIL is an initiative funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented jointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Climate-KIC, the Global Adaptation and Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI), and UNEP FI.

Keep a look out for the next webinar in the series, which will take place in September on physical climate risk assessment and disclosures.

An introduction to climate adaptation for financial institutions: part of the CAIL series

Hosted by UNEP FI and Eco-Business, this public webinar presents insights from a new policy brief, “Climate-related risks in financial regulation and supervision in APAC: A policy landscape analysis”.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region has a critical role to play in mitigating global climate change while adapting and building resilience to its impacts. The new UNEP FI report highlights the diverse range of steps a variety of APAC economies are taking to address climate change risks within their banking regulatory frameworks.

Integration of climate-related risks can support more resilient financial systems that are better equipped to navigate the challenges posed by climate change. It may also drive increased allocation of capital towards sustainable activities. As banks incorporate climate risks into their decision-making processes, this could influence lending and investment patterns, potentially reshaping economic activities across industries in the region.

This webinar includes a discussion of the main findings of the report and perspectives from representatives from central banks and other experts on recent developments in climate-related financial regulations—and lessons learned from their implementation. 

Speakers include:
- Aziz Durrani, Team Lead and Senior TA Specialist, Technical Assistance, ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO)
- Suraya Sani, Deputy Director, Sustainability Unit, Bank Negara Malaysia
- Adam Ng, Finance Practice Leadership Team, WWF
- Will Martindale, Co-founder and Managing Director, Canbury

Moderator: Junice Yeo, Executive Director, Eco-Business

This session is offered as part of UNEP FI's Regulatory Implementation Support Programme, which is designed to help UNEP FI members and other stakeholders understand, implement, and comply with sustainable finance regulations and reporting requirements. The programme offers both public and UNEP FI members-only webinars on timely policy and regulatory topics.

Integrating Climate-Related Risks into Financial Regulation in APAC

L’Afrique a mobilisé 43,7 milliards $ de financement climatique en 2024 dont 8 milliards $ provenant du secteur privé selon Climate Policy Initiative (CPI). Les banques commerciales n’ont contribué qu’à hauteur de 800 millions $ ne représentant ainsi que 1,8% des flux de financements climatiques en Afrique et 10% des financements du secteur privé. Dans ce sens, les banques commerciales Africaines sont amenées à saisir les opportunités commerciales présentées par la finance climat, notamment pour l’atténuation. Cet effort passe tout d’abord par un parcours de transformations stratégiques et de développement de capacités techniques internes au niveau des banques. Pour cela, UNEP FI a développé le Parcours d'Atténuation Climatique (Climate Mitigation Journey – CMJ ), en tant que stratégie climatique permettant aux banques de développer les capacités techniques tel que l’analyse d’impact, la gestion des risques financiers liés aux changements climatiques, les mécanismes de « Reporting », la comptabilité carbone, les plans de transition, etc. 

Objectifs du Webinaire:
• Présentation de l'Initiative financière du Programme des Nations Unies pour l'environnement (UNEP FI) et les avantages pour les banques Africaines
• Introduction du Parcours d’Atténuation Climatique (Climate Mitigation Journey) et son applicabilité pour les acteurs du secteur financier africain
• Présentation des outils techniques requis pour le parcours d’atténuation et la transition climatique des banques Africaines

Ce webinaire fait partie d'une série de sessions régionales sur divers sujets liés au parcours climatique des banques d'Afrique et du Moyen-Orient.

Renforcer les capacités techniques climatiques des banques africaines

We have worked closely with banks around the world to explore and advance methodologies for assessing climate-related credit risks. This collaboration has provided valuable insights into how climate considerations are being integrated into credit risk modelling and broader risk management strategies.

These findings will be featured in an upcoming publication, designed to help financial institutions enhance their climate risk assessment practices. As part of this effort, a global survey was conducted from October 2024 to March 2025 to capture a snapshot of current practices and identify emerging trends in climate risk integration.

A preview of the forthcoming report will be shared in this webinar, which will highlight key insights, including how banks are using climate data, the scope of current assessments, and evolving modelling approaches. This webinar is for risk professionals from banks globally, with a specific focus on climate/credit risk.

This work was conducted jointly by UNEP FI and Global Credit Data.

Benchmarking climate-related credit risk assessment methodologies – Surveying global banking uptake

In this webinar, the EBA will present on the implementation of the Pillar 3 Data Hub on ESG disclosures. This tool will provide single-platform transparency and accessibility of prudential disclosure information, and is an important part of the EU's overall transparency strategy. The Data Hub promotes data comparability in a harmonized format, and employs interactive tools. Additional topics to be covered include opportunities for financial institutions from a single and well structured public data source, such as the European Single Access Point (ESAP).

Check back for confirmed speakers.

This session is offered as part of UNEP FI's Regulatory Implementation Support Programme, which is designed to help UNEP FI members and other stakeholders understand, implement, and comply with sustainable finance regulations and reporting requirements. The programme offers both public and UNEP FI members-only webinars on timely policy and regulatory topics.

EU Sustainable Finance Data Architecture: EBA’s Pillar 3 Data Hub

A Sustainable Ocean Economy—often termed the sustainable blue economy—is increasingly recognized as both an ecological imperative and a financial opportunity. As the ocean contributes critical ecosystem services, food security, and economic prosperity, its value continues to grow. If the ocean economy were treated as a country, it would have ranked as the fifth-largest globally in 2019, with its gross value added doubling from US$1.3 trillion in 1995 to US$2.6 trillion in 2020, according to the OECD. This growth, averaging 2.8% annually, underscores the ocean’s expanding role in global sustainable development and economic resilience.

For the financial sector, the transition to a Sustainable Ocean Economy presents a unique investment frontier. Private capital is positioned to drive this transition by funding the modernization of trade and energy infrastructure, sustainable food systems, and emerging ocean-related sectors. The Ocean Investment Protocol provides a framework for financial institutions, insurers, development banks, and ocean-based industries to align with Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water) and related objectives. By proactively managing environmental risks and leveraging sustainable opportunities, the finance industry can play a pivotal role in shaping a thriving, resilient ocean economy.

Ocean Investment Protocol: Aligning financial flows with the transition to a Sustainable Ocean Economy

Hosted by UNEP FI and Eco-Business, this webinar will share insights into China’s policy development and facilitate exchanges between China and the rest of the world. As China defines and implements its national ESG disclosure regulations, what does 2025 hold for banks and other financial sector actors? How should China and Europe collaboratively advance the sustainable finance policy agenda to meet commitments to the Paris Accord and SDGs? 

Guo Peiyuan, Chairman of China Sustainable Investment Forum, will give a presentation, which will be followed by a panel discussion.

Speakers include:
- Gemma Sanchez Danes, Senior Leadership Team, EFRAG
- Wei Yuan, Project Lead of China ESG Advisory and Asia Coordinator of SBFN, IFC 
- Fei Li, Global Co-Director of Disclosures, CDP

Moderator: Shouqing Zhu, China Policy Senior Advisor, UNEP FI

This webinar is the second in UNEP FI’s new APAC Policy Webinar Series in partnership with Eco-Business. This series is an offering of UNEP FI’s Regulatory Implementation Support Programme.

Image credit: Unsplash / Danijel Durkovic

Development of ESG information disclosure regulations in China

This session will showcase the work of the European Banking Authority (EBA) in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data space. Boris Jaros, Policy Expert - ESG Risks and Sustainable Finance, at the European Banking Authority, will present the highlights from EBA's recent report, "Data Availability and Feasibility of Common Methodology for ESG Exposures".  

This discussion will highlight the importance of ESG data, its availability and credibility, and how it affects banks’ ability to correctly address sustainability-related risks. 

Moderators:
- Daniel Bouzas, Regional Lead - Europe, UNEP FI
- Guilherme Cassaro, Regulatory Implementation & Engagement, UNEP FI

This session is an offering of UNEP FI's Regulatory Implementation Support Programme.

Availability and Credibility of ESG Data

Hosted by UNEP FI and UN Women, this webinar will discuss the role of financial institutions in driving gender equality and financial inclusion. This session will introduce the recently launched "Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Target Setting Guidance for Banks", showcasing how banks can utilize the guidance to support efforts in closing the gender gap. The webinar will also showcase real-world examples of how banks are successfully integrating gender strategies into their operations.

Attend this session to:
• Gain insights into why gender equality is a business imperative for financial institutions.
• Learn from industry leaders about successful gender-responsive strategies.
• Discover practical tools and case studies that demonstrate the measurable impact of gender-responsive financial practices.
• Engage with global experts and be part of the movement shaping the future of sustainable and inclusive banking.

This webinar is open to all financial institutions, NGOs, consultants, and professionals committed to advancing gender-responsive finance.

Banking for a Better Future: Advancing Gender Equality for Healthy and Inclusive Economies

Through the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) many banks from Africa and the Middle East (AME) have started building a baseline of climate capabilities as well as setting their climate commitments and initial targets. Banks from the region are also seizing the commercial opportunities presented by sustainable finance in various climate mitigation sectors, including in renewable energy, green hydrogen, clean transportation, renewable-powered sea-water desalination projects, etc. 

However, with evolving regulations and public policies, further progressing of climate mitigation efforts requires continual strategic transformations and internal technical capacities development. 

This webinar will provide the opportunity for participants to learn from the experiences of leading financial institutions from the region as they showcase their climate mitigation efforts and engage in a peer-to-peer exchange on challenges ahead and opportunities from local and regional perspectives. It will provide an understanding of:

• the approaches different AME banks have taken towards climate mitigation, including the consideration of the evolving regulations and policies
• the foundational work banks have completed to develop an operational capacity for climate mitigation, including on climate risk management, impact analysis, and climate reporting
• how AME banks evaluate how climate change impacts their operations and portfolios across business lines and sectors, in alignment with the climate priorities outlined in NDCs and client/stakeholder needs

Speakers include:
• Ms. Mbombo Luhembe, Absa Group
• Mr. Samuel Kweku Kumah, Fidelity Bank Ghana

This webinar is part of a series of regional sessions on various climate-related topics relevant to the needs of banks from AME.

Advancing climate mitigation capabilities of banks in Africa & Middle East: Insights on challenges & opportunities

Tackling climate mitigation represents a multifaceted and multi-year transformation for banks in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, impacting every single aspect of their business and operating models. Through initiatives like the UN Principles for Responsible Banking and the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, many APAC banks have started taking the required steps towards climate mitigation by building a baseline of climate capabilities and setting climate targets in line with their national jurisdictions. However, with evolving standards, methodologies, public policies, and regulations, the path forward remains dynamic, and approaches vary significantly across different banks.

This webinar will provide participants with the opportunity to learn about the Climate Mitigation Journey—a climate strategy asset that outlines all the business capabilities banks need to build and iterate over the coming years to align their financing with the Paris Agreement. The session will take a specific focus on APAC's challenges, opportunities, and practical implications related to decarbonization including:
• Examining current emissions breakdown
• The evolving regulatory & disclosure landscape
• Emerging climate trends 

By exploring these aspects, participants will gain insights into how banks can effectively navigate this transformation and capitalize on emerging opportunities in the climate space.

Navigating the climate landscape in Asia Pacific: Climate mitigation strategies for banks in the region

Hosted by UNEP FI and Eco-Business, this webinar presents a new policy brief, “Sustainable Finance Taxonomies in ASEAN: Towards Regional Harmonization”.

Taxonomies are a key tool for setting clear and consistent definitions for sustainable economic activities, in Asia-Pacific and beyond, and helping channel more capital towards global sustainability agendas while mitigating risks linked to greenwashing. 

The region is poised to become a key player in shaping global sustainable finance standards. Five of the ten ASEAN Member States have already developed their own national taxonomies, which are anticipated to continue to evolve with regular updates to align with scientific advancements; transparency, such as public disclosure of eligibility criteria; and regional collaboration.  

UNEP FI recently published a report taking stock of sustainable finance taxonomies across ASEAN and the degree to which these align with the ASEAN Taxonomy. In this webinar, UNEP FI report authors will share the main findings of the report and bring together key regional experts who will discuss how to further advance harmonization in this space. 

Part 1: 
Overview of main findings of the policy brief, including major components of the regional ASEAN Taxonomy and structure of ASEAN Member States' national taxonomies and alignment with ASEAN Taxonomy elements.

Part 2: 
Deep-dive presentations from leading experts in the region to share their perspectives and experience in promoting a more harmonized sustainable finance market. 

Speakers:
- Rhodora M. Brazil-De Vera, Deputy Director, Financial Supervision Sector, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Ornsaran Pomme Manuamorn, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank
- Eugene Wong, CEO, SFIA

This webinar is the first in UNEP FI’s new APAC Policy Webinar Series in partnership with Eco-Business. This series is an offering of UNEP FI’s Regulatory Implementation Support Programme.

Image: Fokkebok / Envato

Sustainable Finance Taxonomies in ASEAN: Towards Regional Harmonization

This webinar will focus on the perspectives of banks and other relevant stakeholders regarding the EU Omnibus Simplification Package and its expected impact on their companies and businesses. 

The Omnibus Simplification Package is a legislative initiative that was introduced by the European Commission (EC) on the 26th of February, aimed at simplifying, consolidating, and streamlining existing EU sustainability regulations – including among others the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD or CS3D), and the EU Taxonomy – with the goal of reducing administrative burdens and enhance competitiveness within the EU. 

This session is offered as part of UNEP FI’s Regulatory Implementation Support Programme, which is designed to help UNEP FI members and other stakeholders understand, implement, and comply with sustainable finance regulations and reporting requirements through public and UNEP FI members-only programming.

Speakers:

•  Thorbjørn Lundholm Dahl – Deputy Head of Group Sustainability, Danskebank
•  Silvia Irazoqui, Global Sustainability Team, BBVA
•  Marta García de Oteyza, Sustainability Group Vice President, Santander
•  Robert Spruijt – Managing Director – EMEA Head Sustainable Solutions Group, ING
•  Brent D. Matthies, PhD., Group Head, ESG Framework and Coordination, Nordea

Moderators:
•  Daniel Bouzas, Europe Regional Lead, UNEP FI
•  Rocio Falcones, EU Policy Lead, UNEP FI


Check back soon for additional confirmed speakers.

EU Omnibus Simplification Package: Implications and Banks' Perspectives

The webinar provides an overview of the progress the Net-Zero Export Credit Agencies Alliance (NZECA) and its members have achieved since the Alliance's launch at COP28 and takes a deep dive into the NZECA Target-Setting Protocol.

The Protocol is a science-based framework for export credit agencies (ECAs) and export-import banks (ExIms) pursuing the path to net-zero and a guiding document for NZECA members to meet the commitments made when joining the Alliance. 

Join representatives of the ECAs leading in the climate action space, scientists and UNEP FI experts as they explain the approach proposed by the Protocol and its potential to align climate commitments on trade finance and accelerate the decarbonisation of international trade globally in a coherent science-based manner.

The webinar will provide the opportunity for the audience to ask their questions to NZECA members and will be interesting for the wide variety of actors interested in sustainable trade finance.

Unpacking target setting for net-zero trade: Progress of the Net-Zero Export Credit Agencies Alliance

This webinar, led by the Diana Chepn’geno, Africa and Middle East Coordinator for the V20 Sustainable Insurance Facility will be a discussion between experts in banking and bancassurance covering climate risks and its repercussions on the business operations and overall strategies of banks or MFIs. The conversation will explore the possible challenges and solutions faced by institutions in securing their resilience and that of their MSME clientele. 
Secondly, the webinar will feature a presentation by a prominent climate risk modelling expert, covering what it means to conduct climate risks assessments and how to quantify climate risk exposure of an institutions’ portfolio with a specific focus on parametric portfolio coverage.

A Lens Into Climate Risks Resilience & MSMEs: Insights For Banks & Insurers

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A Lens Into Climate Risks Resilience & MSMEs: Insights For Banks & Insurers

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UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative