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Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, announced a one-year partnership with the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI) ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 28 The Conference of the Parties (COP28) was held in Dubai Expo City.
COP28 will take place in November 2023, bringing together world leaders from the public and private sectors to make progress on climate-related issues.
As the UAE hosts COP28 and DIFC is an important contributor to sustainable economic growth in the UAE, the centre leads by example and announced their path to a partnership with COP28 12 months before the event.
DIFC and GEFI will drive change in the global financial industry related to achieving net zero; unlock Islamic finance; finance nature and biodiversity; and finance the Sustainable Development Goals.
As the host financial centre for the GEFI COP28 programme, DIFC will support a series of report launches, roundtables and community engagement over the next 12 months.
The partnership was launched at DIFC with a keynote speech by Mrs Susan Rice, one of the most powerful women in banking and Chair of the GEFI Global Steering Group. Mrs Susan was the first woman to lead the UK’s Clearing Bank, chaired the UK Financial Services Culture Council and was a non-executive director of the Bank of England for seven years.
Participants also heard from Dr. Abdelilah Belatik, Secretary General of the General Council of Islamic Banking and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), and Iqbal Khan, CEO of Fajr Capital.
Arif Amiri, CEO of the DIFC Authority, said: “DIFC and GEFI are delighted that the financial services sector is the first to launch a programme that aligns with the UAE government’s COP28 agenda. Given that we have achieved and will continue to work with our clients on climate-related issues With the progress made, DIFC is well positioned to be the host financial centre for the COP28 programme. We look forward to working with GEFI and senior members of the local, regional and international financial community to embrace this initiative and make a real difference.”
Omar Shaikh, Co-Founder and Managing Director of GEFI, said: “Our Road to COP28 campaign aims to encourage and support financial institutions to transition from commitment to actual implementation, measurement and reporting. The maturity and vision of the UAE government and DIFC as a world-class financial centre The commitment to encouraging the regional financial sector to increase its environmental awareness and achieve the COP goals is critical.”
The partnership is in line with DIFC’s 2030 strategy and reflects its progress in enhancing Dubai’s reputation as the region’s leading sustainable financial hub. This is achieved by chairing the Dubai Sustainable Finance Working Group (DSFWG) established in 2019.
The Path to COP28 initiative also complements the recently launched DSFWG Self-Assessment Tool to measure the maturity of companies’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and practices.
GEFI’s previous “Road to COP26” campaign was supported by the City of London Corporation and brought together a number of signatories, including 20 financial institutions representing £2 trillion ($25 trillion) in assets, to promote Financing to promote positive change at the Glasgow COP.-TradeArabia News Service
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