Bank of Palestine and EBRD hold the first Climate Risk Management Conference in the financial sector
Focusing on the role of financial institutions in mitigating and managing climate risks
The Bank of Palestine (BOP) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) convened the first Climate Risk Management Conference in Palestine focusing on the role of financial institutions in mitigating and managing climate risks.
The conference was endorsed and attended by the Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority, Dr. Feras Milhem. Attendees from the banking sector, private sector, civil society, and the international development community discussed how it is becoming central for banks to factor in climate risk in their risk assessment and stress testing.
“Although Palestine is not a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, however, Palestine is not immune from climate risk. As such, banks need to take into account both the physical and transition risks of climate change. Only through cooperating together as financial sector with the help of the regulator, learning from international experience and working with international development agencies, will banks be able to tackle this problem. However, we need to start internally, we at BOP adopted a holistic sustainability approach with a growing focus on climate change”, said Mr. Hashim Shawa, Chairman, Bank of Palestine Group.
The conference participants agreed on the important role played by regulators in creating incentives and regulations to encourage banks to adopt climate friendly policies and increase their green products. This was the message echoed by the Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority, Dr. Feras Milhem. These measures will help in both transition finance and adaptation finance.