BIOFIN supports Sri Lanka's Roadmap for Sustainable Finance

Central Bank of Sri Lanka launched a Roadmap for Sustainable Finance in Sri Lanka on 10 April 2019 at the Sustainable Banking Network Global Meeting of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in Washington, D.C.

The Roadmap provides a broad direction to financial regulators and financial institutions to effectively manage environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks associated with projects they finance and help increase assistance to businesses that are greener, climate-friendly and socially inclusive.

By providing policy guidelines and recommendations for responding to ESG risks and sustainable finance opportunities, the Roadmap attempts to scale up the contribution of the financial sector – including banking and finance, capital markets, and the insurance industry – and help to build a more resilient, sustainable green economy. IFC, a part of the World Bank Group, served as the secretariat and technical advisor and United Nations Development Programme provided financial support and capacity building through its Biodiversity Finance Initiative to the Central Bank in designing the Sustainable Finance Roadmap.

BIOFIN's support to the Central Bank is one of the three financial solutions being piloted in Sri Lanka as a part of the project's aim to provide the country with alternative mechanisms to raise 30 billion LKR (USD 171 million) it requires to achieve all nationally set biodiversity targets.

The roadmap was developed in consultation with stakeholders including Sri Lanka Bankers’ Association (Guarantee) Ltd, Finance Houses Association of Sri Lanka, Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka.

The Roadmap articulates a series of strategic activities to implement sustainable finance in Sri Lanka, while detailing an action plan to be implemented over the short, medium and long term by respective stakeholders. The strategic activities encompassed in the roadmap revolve around six focus areas namely: Financing VISION 2030, ESG Integration into Financial Market, Financial Inclusion, Capacity Building, International Cooperation and Measurement and Reporting.

The Road Map can be downloaded here: