CASI co-hosts Africa sustainability forum as G20 side event

South Africa | The first African Sustainability Forum, co-hosted by the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), the South African Reserve Bank and National Treasury, and UNCTAD, ended its two-day discussion in Johannesburg on March 28.

This G20 side event drew over 240 senior policymakers, financial leaders, and experts from 24 countries, with hundreds more joining online.

The forum served as a platform for knowledge exchange and meaningful dialogue on how to advance Africa’s sustainable finance markets, addressing critical issues such as sustainable finance taxonomies, disclosure, energy transition, and innovative blended finance tools to drive green industrialization.

Participants also discussed the potential for expanding carbon markets in Africa, including through the use of Article 6 provisions of the Paris Agreement, as well as methods for financing climate adaptation and resilience projects across the continent.

Ma Jun, Chairman of CASI, believes that Africa has enormous potential for green growth, citing its abundant renewable energy resources and carbon sinks.

He suggested that Africa’s sustainable finance market should focus on investing in renewable energy, greening its mining and agriculture sectors, and supplying carbon credits to the rest of the world.

Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, Head of Secretariat for G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG), highlighted the urgent need for capacity-building in sustainable finance across Africa and acknowledged the important role CASI can play.

Gcobisa Magazi, Director of the Deputy-Director General Office of South Africa National Treasury, spoke on behalf of the South African G20 Presidency.

She highlighted the need to develop a robust sustainable taxonomy and to improve interoperability of taxonomies across jurisdictions.

Nan Li Collins, Senior Director of Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD, stressed the importance of transparency, reliable data, and regulatory oversight to build investor trust and scale sustainable investment in developing markets.A

t the Forum, CASI released new online learning modules – with 26 modules available to learners now — and AI-powered learning tools with multilingual functions.

It was also announced that the next CASI Sustainability Forum would be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July 2025.

Since its launch at COP28 at end-2023, CASI has provided capacity building and TA services to over 5000 participants from over 50 countries and jurisdictions, most of which are emerging markets and developing economies.