Today marks the official launch of South Africa’s first national Green Finance Taxonomy. Investors, issuers, lenders and other financial sector participants can use the taxonomy to track, monitor, and demonstrate the credentials of their green activities in a more confident and efficient way. A green finance taxonomy is an official classification or catalogue that defines a minimum set of assets, projects, and sectors that are eligible to be defined as "green" or environmentally friendly. It supports emerging national policy and voluntary private sector initiatives toward sustainable finance by reducing costs and uncertainty in classifying a core set of green activities.

South Africa’s taxonomy responds to recommendations from National Treasury’s 2021 Technical Paper: Financing a Sustainable Economy, which calls for the development or adoption of “a taxonomy for green, social and sustainable finance initiatives, consistent with international developments, to build credibility, foster investment, and enable effective monitoring and disclosure of performance.” The technical paper focuses on addressing climate risk and the opportunities for the financial sector to contribute positively to sustainability objectives and support a just transition to a low-carbon, socially inclusive, and resilient economy.

 

Full Statement Attached

 

Issued by National Treasury