En Voyage_Issue#14_Flickbook

A Guernsey Green Fund must be established
with the objectives of seeking a return for investors,
spreading risk and mitigating environmental damage.
By investing in a Guernsey Green Fund, investors
can be assured that their investments have a positive
environmental impact on the planet which are being
monitored against internationally-recognised criteria.
The first green fund was registered in October
- the Guernsey-domiciled agribusiness-focused
Cibus Fund, which first launched in 2017.
An umbrella body for green finance in the island,
Guernsey Green Finance has been formed to develop
and deliver a framework for the island, aligned with the
assessment framework developed by the United Nations’
Financial Centres For Sustainability (FC4S) network.
Guernsey attended the network’s AGM in China in
October and a month later was part of the launch of
the FC4S’s European network in Dublin, alongside
eight other European centres including London,
Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich, building a broader
European commitment to sustainable finance.
The International Stock Exchange (TISE), headquartered
in Guernsey, has recently launched a green segment,
which will include criteria for bonds, funds and companies.
A ‘green’ bond from Hong Kong has already listed on
TISE, its advisers choosing TISE due to cost-effectiveness,
simplicity of listing and Guernsey’s green credentials.
Together with a flexible regulator willing and able to
devote expertise and resources to the development of
green finance products, we have a history of innovation
and a proven track record in the delivery of financial
services for ‘clean tech’ investments to build on.
Our work in this area builds on our strengths and expertise
in private equity and infrastructure, supports other initiatives
in areas such as impact investing, and is part of a general
repositioning of the island’s financial services offering.
Guernsey Finance also hosted a seminar in London in
November providing a detailed briefing on Guernsey’s
green finance strategy and the Guernsey Green Fund.
Address PO Box 655, Somers House,
St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3PN
Phone +44 (0) 1481 720071
Twitter @WEAREGUERNSEY
Email info@weareguernsey.com Web weareguernsey.com
THROUGH GUERNSEY GREEN FINANCE,
THE APPROACH WILL BE TO:
• Focus on Guernsey’s core competencies and
seek to align with and build on a global green
taxonomy development by global organisations
and standard setters.
• Rapidly develop a flexible and comprehensive
product offering across the securities, investment
and insurance sectors.
• Develop a programme of engagement to promote
the offering by working with
commercial and representative organisations
on and off-island.
• Seek to develop partnership opportunities
to exploit the island’s leadership position in
infrastructure services.
• Work with global public policy groups to foster
international co-operation on the development of
green finance.
GREEN FINANCE FAQS
What is Green Finance?
Green Finance Study Group, established at the
G20 summit in 2016, defined green finance
as ‘the financing of investments that provide
environmental benefits in the broader context
of environmentally sustainable development’.
Green Finance includes traditional investment
vehicles (such as equities, investment funds
and bonds) in which the underlying businesses
are involved in operations aimed at improving
or maintaining the natural environment.
Why Green Finance? Why now?
In September 2015, the United Nations (UN)
published the Sustainable Development Goals
– a collection of 17 global goals which cover
a broad range of economic development
issues including climate change.
What is Guernsey’s current position?
Guernsey was named within Z/Yen’s
inaugural Green Global Finance Centres
as an ‘emerging global contender’.
Guernsey is home to a full-service financial
services industry offering both capital and
insurance market products and services, including
investment and insurance management and
capital market listings, much of which can
legitimately claim to have green credentials.
What is Guernsey’s ambition in Green Finance?
Guernsey’s mission statement is ‘to be at the
forefront of the development of Green Finance’.
What is Guernsey’s approach?
Guernsey will seek to contribute positively to the
green taxonomy in partnership with supranational
organisations such as the UN and G20.
Guernsey will focus on its key strengths
as a global financial centre to enable
international capital flows via green capital
and insurance market products including the
world’s first green investment fund rules.
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