Climate funding platform in the works for developing countries
The Green Exchange says it’s working on a platform that will make it easier for developing countries to raise funds to address climate change challenges.
What you need to know:
- The creators of the platform, The Green Exchange (TGE), claim it will make it easier for corporate issuers to raise green bonds and investors to meet their green investment objectives.
- According to them, the new web and mobile application seek to fight climate change by helping developing countries to “realise the dream of decarbonising and dealing with the impacts of a warmer planet”.
- Experts say green bonds are fixed-income financial instruments that are used to fund projects that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits.
What has been touted as the world’s first dedicated exchange that seeks to revolutionise climate funding for developing countries is set to be launched soon.
The creators of the platform, The Green Exchange (TGE), which they say is “designed purposefully for emerging markets such as Africa”, claim it will make it easier for corporate issuers to raise green bonds and investors to meet their green investment objectives.
According to them, the new web and mobile application seek to fight climate change by helping developing countries to “realise the dream of decarbonising and dealing with the impacts of a warmer planet”.
The platform’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Orla Enright, said her team has been working “round the clock” to deliver the exchange as the world prepares for the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.
“Nicknamed the African COP, COP27 is set to build on previous successes and serve as an opportunity for stakeholders to effectively tackle the global challenge of climate change and pave the way for future ambition, and also comes as the continent reels from several extreme weather events such as drought and destructive floods, thus increasing the threat of food insecurity,” the team explains in an official statement.
They say African nations continue to disproportionately face the brunt of climate change although they contribute the least to global warming and are historically isolated from climate capital.
Experts say green bonds are fixed-income financial instruments that are used to fund projects that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits.
The Green Exchange team explained that on the platform, mature companies are provided with the market to raise debt via corporate green bonds.
“Once they’re given the tools to issue a green bond, TGE facilitates investment into the said bond from both public and private development funds from all over the world. To boost liquidity in the platform, TGE will build a thriving secondary market to ensure listed green bonds are tradeable prior to their maturity,” they said.
The platform targets to reach a cumulative issuance of $5 billion within five years.
“Emerging markets (EM) green bond issuance is expected to double in the next three years compared to the previous three. The EM green bond market is expected to cross the $100 billion mark of annual issuance by 2023,” the team said.
It points out that technology applications are urgently needed to replace the traditional bureaucratic procedures for accessing the capital market.
“TGE is a user-friendly web and mobile application platform that serves as an intermediary between established institutions, startups and investors who will be trading their securities.”
