• Panama becomes the third country in Latin America and the Caribbean and the first in Central America to launch its Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.
• This key instrument will facilitate the flow of trade and capital towards environmentally sustainable investments in Panama, contributing to the transition towards a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive national economy.
• More than 350 representatives from 90 entities participated in the taxonomy development process.
Panama City, March 27, 2024 – Today, the Panama Sustainable Finance Taxonomy was officially launched, a fundamental tool for the development of a competitive national sustainable finance market and the attraction of environmentally sustainable investments to the country.
In this way, Panama positions itself as a leader in the region, being the third country in Latin America and the Caribbean and the first in Central America to launch this key instrument. The Panama Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is a major milestone for the country, as it will allow investors, companies, and other market players to more easily identify strategic investment opportunities that align with the country’s environmental goals, such as those established in the Paris Agreement. This, in turn, will help attract private capital to environmentally sustainable projects, which will contribute to the transition towards a low-emission, resilient, sustainable, and inclusive national economy.
By being interoperable and complementary with the existing taxonomies of other countries and regions, such as that of the European Union, Panama could position itself as an attractive destination for international investors, who will be able to invest in environmentally sustainable projects in Panama with greater confidence, having comparable sustainability definitions and criteria, thus reducing the risk of greenwashing. Interoperability will facilitate the flow of cross-border trade and capital towards this type of investment in Panama and will strengthen international financial cooperation.
The Panama Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is the result of a joint effort led by the Panama Sustainable Finance Task Force (GTFS), the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP), the Superintendency of the Securities Market of Panama (SMV), and the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama (SSRP), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment (MiAmbiente) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and with the technical support of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and the financial support of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Union, through its EUROCLIMA program.
In total, more than 350 representatives from 90 entities of the public, productive, and financial sectors, academia, civil society, and international organizations participated in the development process of the Panama Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.
In short, the Panama Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is a key tool that contributes to aligning the financial sector with the country’s environmental goals.
Resources
Download a copy of the Panama Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (in Spanish) from:
https://www.superbancos.gob.pa/taxonomia-finanzas-sostenibles/documentos
https://supervalores.gob.pa/taxonomia-de-finanzas-sostenibles-de-panama/
https://finanzassostenibles.org/?page_id=630
https://www.unepfi.org/publications/la-taxonomia-de-finanzas-sostenibles-de-panama
Editor’s Notes:
About the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
UNEP is the leading environmental authority in the United Nations system. It provides leadership and encourages partnerships in the care of the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising the quality of life for future generations. For more information, please contact the UNEP Regional Communication Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean: unep-latinamerica-news@un.org.
About the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
UNEP FI brings together a global network of banks, insurance companies, and investors who collectively catalyze action across the financial system to deliver more sustainable global economies. For over 30 years, the initiative has been connecting the UN with financial institutions around the world to shape the sustainable finance agenda. It has established the world's leading sustainability frameworks that help the financial industry address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges at a global level. www.unepfi.org
About the Sustainable Finance Task Force (GTFS)
The GTFS is composed of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Environment, the Superintendency of Banks of Panama, the Superintendency of Insurance and Insurance of Panama, the Superintendency of the Securities Market, the Panama Stock Exchange, the Panama Banking Association, the Panamanian Association of Insurers, the Panamanian Chamber of Investment Management Companies and Pension Funds, the Latin American Confederation of Savings and Credit Cooperatives, the Panamanian Capital Market Chamber, the National Council of Private Enterprise and Banco Nacional de Panamá. This initiative was supported by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, the National Association for the Conservation of Nature, and the UNEP-FI initiative. The GTFS was established in September 2018 with the aim of working together to position Panama as a center for sustainable finance. This group has the most representative participation of the financial sector in the region, making this initiative a model to follow to build the foundations for the development of a sustainable and competitive financial sector.
About the Superintendency of Banks of Panama (SBP)
The SBP is the regulatory and supervisory body for banks and banking groups authorized to operate in Panama, as well as the supervisory body for fiduciary entities to which the SBP has granted the corresponding license.
About the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama (SSRP)
The SSRP is a government agency that regulates the Panamanian insurance industry. The fundamental objective of the SSRP is to develop activities aimed at strengthening the growth of the insurance, reinsurance, and captive insurance industry in general, as well as to control, regulate, and supervise their operations to provide the national and international financial sector with efficient services that benefit the country.
About the Superintendency of the Securities Market (SMV)
The SMV is a specialized technical body whose purpose is to safeguard the protection of investors, the efficiency and transparency of the markets under its supervision, the correct formation of prices, and the dissemination of all necessary information for such purposes. It has legal status of internal public law and enjoys functional, administrative, economic, technical, and budgetary autonomy.
About the Ministry of Environment of Panama (MiAmbiente)
It is the state’s governing body in matters of protection, conservation, preservation, and restoration of the environment, the sustainable and responsible use of natural resources, through the promotion of the best environmental practices, in compliance with and application of the laws, to ensure an optimal environment for future generations and promote the sustainable development of the country.
About the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Panama (MEF)
The MEF is a public institution of Panama that is part of the Executive Branch. Among its main functions are to manage and provide the resources for the execution of the government’s plans and programs and to formulate the country’s economic and social policy.
About the Green Climate Fund
It is a fund within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change established as a financial mechanism to help developing countries in climate change adaptation practices and mitigation of its effects.
About the EUROCLIMA Program
EUROCLIMA is a program financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Federal Government of Germany, through the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as well as by the governments of France and Spain, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation. The program’s mission is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects in 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting mitigation, adaptation, resilience, climate investment, and biodiversity. To achieve this, it is implemented, in accordance with the ‘Spirit of Team Europe,’ under the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), AFD Group: Agence Française de Développement (AFD) / Expertise France (EF), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). www.euroclima.org
For more information and interviews, please contact:
UNEP Regional Communication Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean
Carlos Gómez, Regional Information Officer unep-latinamerica-news@un.org
