The Sustainable Finance Initiative is now hosted by Banking Association South Africa under the Climate Risk Steering Group, and continues to be chaired by National Treasury.

Several Working Groups have been created to take forward the recommendations of the Technical Paper:

Taxonomy.

The Taxonomy Working Group will develop an initial green finance taxonomy and governance framework for future iterations. A taxonomy is a classification system identifying activities, assets, and/or project categories that deliver on key green objectives with reference to identified thresholds and/or targets. It should incentivise capital to flow towards green activities.

Financial instruments

The Financial Instruments Working Group will map the universe of sustainable instruments and understand applicability and appetite to South Africa. It will recommend an enabling environment for sustainable finance to grow.

Disclosure as per the Task force on Climate Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The TCFD Working Group will establish a baseline; develop minimum disclosure requirements; engage regulators; identify relevant guidance for the South African context; and monitor adoption and application.

Benchmarking climate risk.

The Climate Risk Working Group will develop a benchmark climate risk scenario for use in stress tests by the sector. It will start with insurance and banks.

Building sector capacity.

The Capacity Working Group will partner/collaborate/facilitate development of training, and will raise awareness and provide training on materials developed by the various working groups.