Seminar Moderator: Peter Edwards, Visiting Scholar at Research Center for Green Finance Development, Tsinghua University

• Kairat Aitekenov, First Deputy CEO, AIFC Authority
• Ma Jun, Director of the Research Center for Green Finance Development at Tsinghua University, Chairman of China Green Finance Committee

• Michael Gifford, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Republic of Kazakhstan
• Bruno Balvanera, Managing Director of Central Asia, EBRD
• Aidar Kazybayev, Managing Director, AIFC Authority

Many global initiatives and partnerships in relation to green and sustainable finance, including the G20, NGFS, UNEP and SBN, as well as regional/national green finance bodies in the EU and China, have been created for the primary purpose of addressing environmental issues and climate changes. This session will invite representatives from these global initiatives and update us on the latest international developments on green finance, discuss ways to strengthen international collaboration, and options to support Central and South Asia’s green finance development.

Moderator: Dr. Ma Jun, Director of the Research Center for Green Finance Development at Tsinghua University, Chairman of China Green Finance Committee

Panelists:

• Michael Sheren, Senior Advisor of the Bank of England, Co-Chairman of G20 GFSG
• Morgan Despres, NGFS Secrétariat/Banque de France (video)
• Anthony Cox, Deputy Director of the Environment Directorate, OECD
• Giovanni Capannelli, Country Director of the Kazakhstan Resident Mission, ADB
• Alexander Belyi, Projects Coordinator, UNDP/GEF

As one of the most important financial instruments for green finance, green lending has played a very important role in many countries in financing the green economy. But in order to scale up green loans, it is important to have definitions and taxonomies on green assets, a process for assessing and managing ESG risks for lending, and disclosure requirements. This session will invite representatives from China, Kazakhstan and some other Central and South Asian countries to share their experience in green banking, and discuss barriers and options for advancing green banking practices throughout the Central and South Asian region.

Moderator: Frédéric Asseline, Principal Climate Change Specialist, ADB

Panelists:

• Ma Jun, Director of the Research Center for Green Finance Development at Tsinghua University, Chairman of China Green Finance Committee
• Yuki Yasui, Asia Pacific Region Coordination Manager, UNEP FI
• Solijon Mirzoev, Environmental Protection Specialist, “Project Implementation Unit for Access to Green and Rural Development Finance” under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Tajikistan

The global issuance of green bonds, one of the fastest growing green financial instruments, has increased by almost 15 times over the past 6 years, with Europe and China among the largest green bond markets. Central Asia, as a region, is among the most carbon intensive economies on the planet. Therefore, greening the capital market in the Central Asia Region is of utmost importance in the path of meeting global goals on climate change mitigation and adaptation. This session will invite experts from MDBs and business community to share their views on the development of green bond market.

Moderator: Sean Kidney, CEO and Co-founder, Climate Bond Initiative

Panelists:

• Timur Abushkin, Head of Markets, AIX
• Vincent Duijnhouwer, Associate Director, E2C2 Coordinator, Russia and Central Asia, EBRD
• Victor Kovalenko, Director of Climate Change and Sustainability Services, Deputy Head for the Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe & Central Asia (CESA) region, Ernst & Young Advisory LLP
• Linar Yakupov, General Director, IFC Linova
• Sherzod Kattakhodjaev, Deputy Manager, State Unitary Enterprise “Makhsustrans”

With a growing number of investors looking for opportunities to invest in sustainable finance there is a growing need for green capital reallocation. Fintech solutions can assist with this in a several ways, from providing the computing power for big data analysis of datasets and methodologies to standardising green reporting. New solutions also make it easier for investors to monitor their green investments, and creating digital platforms to facilitate green capital markets issuances even on a smaller scale allow a greater number of issuers to access the capital markets for their green financing needs.

Moderator: Vladimir Litvak, Managing Director of VTB Environment, President of Aristeas Corporation, Director of Chain M company

Panelists:

• Linn Ternsjö, Project Coordinator, Stockholm Green Digital Finance
• Kairat Kaliyev, Managing Director, AIFC Authority / Bekzhan Mutanov, Director, Fintech Department, AIFC Authority
• Hein Wegdam, Managing Director and Head, ING Real Estate Finance
• Tatiana Gridchina, Senior Advisor for Government and International Affairs, Bitfury
• Shiyang Shao, Managing Director, Goolun Capital

A number of national or regional policy frameworks for green and sustainable finance, such as the European Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth and China’s Guidelines for Establishing the Green Financial System, have been launched to build on the global momentum created by the Paris Agreement and UN SDGs. Financial regulators’ role is critical in creating the impetus and a level playground for greening the financial markets. Relevant regulatory policies on green finance combined with reform and innovative financial tools can ease the financing bottleneck that governments face to some degree. During this session speakers from the EU as well as emerging economies that are part of the SBN will cover their experiences to date on policy approaches for green and sustainable finance.

Moderator: Dr. Ma Jun, Director of the Research Center for Green Finance Development at Tsinghua University, Chairman of China Green Finance Committee

Panelists:

• Michael Sheren, Senior Advisor of the Bank of England, Co-Chairman of G20 GFSG
• Madina Maimakova, Associate at the Policy and Strategy Division, Astana Financial Services Authority
• Yuksel Gormez, Senior Economist, Istanbul School of Central Banking, Turkey
• Mariam Kharaishvili, Chief Specialist, Macrofinancial Modeling and Analysis Division, Financial Stability Department, National Bank of Georgia 
• Samat Sultanaliyev, Senior Specialist, Securities Market Policy, State Service of Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market, Government of the Kyrgyz Republic