COP28 Trade Day event: Leveraging sustainable finance for trade to create a sustainable future for all

There has been substantial focus over recent years on how large corporates can employ more sustainable practices and decarbonize, but in order to make an impact, we need to look across their whole global supply chains, including trade finance. This session will take the form of a panel discussion and explore how environmentally responsible practices can be incorporated in trade finance.

Global trade is a vital engine of economic development, allowing countries – including their large corporates and SMEs – to integrate into the global economy, widening access to a greater range of goods and services. However, global trade heavily relies on trade finance, and financial institutions are critical actors in the promotion of sustainable trade and climate change policies, through financing environmentally and socially responsible trade activities.

There is immense opportunity for countries to maximize the role of trade finance in tackling environmental and climate change challenges and raising the standards of living globally.

At this event, the International Chamber of Commerce and its partners will bring together global trade and industry experts to discuss the important role of trade as a key driver of sustainability to enable the shift to a sustainable global economy.

The event will leverage ongoing efforts to encourage production of sustainable goods through increased access to financing and to enable greater investor access to sustainable trade; building upon ICC’s release of its Wave 2 Principles for Sustainable Trade.

Objectives

• Reach an agreement to develop core principles for sustainable trade and trade finance for possible integration by existing sustainable finance taxonomies and uptake by financial institutions and authorities.
• Reach an agreement on immediate policy actions needed to take a major step forward in sustainable trade and supply chain finance.

Programme

Format: Panel Discussion

Moderator: Rami Rafih, Managing Director & Partner, BCG

Speakers: 

• John WH Denton, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce
• Miho Shirotori, Director Division on International Trade and Commodities, UNCTAD
• Barry O’Byrne, Global CEO of Commercial Banking, HSBC
• Farmida Bi, Chair, MENA, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
• Samaila Zubairu, CEO, Africa Finance Corporation