The Kenya Green Building Society(KGBS) has signed a new MoU with the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) aimed at stimulating the take up of certified low carbon buildings in the Kenyan market eligible for the use of proceeds of green bonds.
Climate Bonds Initiative is an investor-focused not-for-profit organization that promotes investment in projects and assets necessary for a rapid transition to a low-carbon and climate resilient economy. Their strategy is to develop a large and liquid Green and Climate Bonds Market that will help drive down the cost of capital for climate projects in developed and emerging markets; to grow aggregation mechanisms for fragmented sectors; and to support governments seeking to tap debt capital markets.
“We are delighted to be supporting the Climate Bonds Initiative. We look forward to working in partnership with CBI and its network in driving the property market to deliver a built environment which achieves social, economic and environmental sustainability in Kenya and beyond. Kenya Green Building Society will continue to advocate for green buildings which go beyond low carbon footprints to deliver triple bottom line returns, and looks forward to becoming a CBI Approved Verifier for low carbon buildings.” Stated Elizabeth Wangeci Chege, Chairperson of the Kenya Green Building Society & Regional Vice-Chair of the Africa Regional Network of the World Green Building Council
As demand for green financial products and climate risk disclosure grows, KGBS will work with Climate Bonds Initiative to help government and private sector actors take advantage of these trends by incorporating green debt into their investment processes and mitigating climate risks connected to their assets. The rapid pace of growth in the built environment is ripe for climate resilient investments even as Kenya embarks on its green bond development program through a sovereign debut bond, and single name issuers emerge in the market.
“As African cities undergo rapid expansion, the built environment challenge is to keep energy consumption low, energy efficiency high and increase climate resilience. Improved design, assessment and verification processes around green buildings helps build trust in new opportunities for expanding green credit markets. This MoU with Kenya Green Building Society represents a new step towards developing investable climate solutions in the property sector that contribute to Kenya reaching its development and climate goals, and our wider objective to build green finance in Africa.” Said Sean Kidney, the CEO Climate Bonds Initiative.
In March 2017, Climate Bonds was signatory with the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) and Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) in conjunction with the Dutch Development Bank (FMO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to a 3 year program to build green bond capability in Kenya & East Africa.
This MoU is aimed more specifically at the green building sector in Kenya and is another step in developing green finance capabilities to promote low carbon building, green investment & resilience in built environment
