Panama becomes the third country in Latin America and the Caribbean and the first in Central America to launch its Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.
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.
Panama’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is an important milestone for the country, since it will allow investors, companies and other market players to more easily identify strategic investment opportunities that align with the country’s environmental objectives, such as those established in the Paris Agreement. This, in turn, will help attract private capital towards environmentally sustainable projects, which will contribute to the transition to a low-emission, resilient, sustainable and inclusive national economy.
By being interoperable 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, by having comparable definitions and sustainability 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.
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The Taxonomy of Sustainable Finance of Panama is the result of a joint effort led by the Sustainable Finance Working Group of Panama (GTFS), the Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP), the Superintendence of the Securities Market of Panama (SMV) and the Superintendence of Insurance and Reinsurance of Panama (SSR), in close collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment (MiAmbiente) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), and with the technical support of the Financial Initiative of the United Nations Environment Program (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 of 90 entities from the public, productive and financial sector, academia, civil society and international organizations participated in the development process of the Sustainable Finance Taxonomy of Panama.
In short, Panama’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is a key tool that contributes to aligning the financial sector with the country’s environmental objectives.