Africa-Press – Angola. The Secretary of State for Budget and Public Investment, Juciene de Sousa, defended this Thursday that banks can offer financial solutions to encourage the adoption of sustainable practices by companies.
As an example, Juciene de Sousa points out loans with lower interest rates for renewable energy projects, or encouraging the issuance of green/blue bonds capable of financing actions with energy and environmental efficiency.
Juciene de Sousa, who was speaking at the opening of the forum “Angola Baking Conference- A Banca e os Desafios ESG”, an initiative of the registers Economy and Market, admitted that banks, due to their impact on the economy, play a crucial role in the concern for a healthier world sustainable.
Looking at the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria, he says that it cannot be seen only as a question of reputation or compliance with standards, but requires banks to have human and technological capacity to develop innovative financial solutions that promote sustainability.
As catalysts for ESG practices, he added, the role of banks is directly related to their effective participation in the economy, as sources of finance for business, government and non-profit organizations.
Admitting the long way to go, from this point of view, Juciene de Sousa foresees the growing participation of Angolan banks in providing credit to the real economy, considering that this is the “key” moment for them to add to the need for the strength of their balance sheets the human and technological capacity to put ESG criteria into practice.
At Executive level, he said that on February 23 of this year, 2023, Angola began to take important steps in the framework of public finances, with the discussion and approval of the document that aligns debt strategies with the country’s social and environmental policies.
For him, the establishment by the UN of the 17 goals of sustainable development encouraged, even more, the application of the ESG criteria, which many companies had already adopted, including international investors, for whom their participation in business depends on good environmental practices , social and corporate governance.
The first Angola Banking Conference brought together national experts from the banking sector who analyzed the application of ESG challenges in banking.
The event, which focused on the analysis of Angolan banking and how shortcuts can be created and speed up the implementation of ESG principles, brought together several figures, including representatives of Millennium BCP (Portugal), FS Risk and Regulation Advisory, ESG Risk Solutions at PwC, and CEO of Angolan commercial banks.
These, in addition to the ESG challenges, discussed technical issues related to long-term risk management, evaluation of strategies aimed at financing projects that guarantee less negative externalities to the environment and society.
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