In a context of climate change threats to the future of the planet, financing the world’s ambitious set of Sustainable Development Goals is a challenge to be overcome.

The Paris agreement following the COP21 called for a drastic shift of the way usual business and economic activities are carried out with the aim to reduce global warming to less than 2°C pre-industrial level.

For such radical shift to effectively take place, tangible measures are required by the Parties, and through collective action, for an effective implementation of the Lima-Paris Agreement.  To that end, mobilizing the required funding to finance the climate transition and ensuring fair access to available resources, in particular for countries in the south, are today the first priorities.

Climate finance is recognized as a key determinant of the needed global economic transformation towards sustainable and climate resilient structures. It is an increasing priority area on the agenda of policy makers, regulators and market practitioners to integrate the need to transform their financial environments in order to move the green economy forward and encourage climate-resilient investments.

The COP22 held in Marrakech in November 2016, also known as the COP of Action, aimed to accelerate the delivery of the Paris Agreement and translate the global commitments into concrete measures to effectively face the climate change threat.

The south is keen not be left out of the leadership to combat climate change and bring our planet to within its boundaries. It is a threat that presents an opportunity to the South and particularly Africa to grow sustainably while meeting its growing populations’ needs. Unlike the rich world that has used polluting old technologies to produce energy and fuel its industries, the South could benefit from technological advancements and innovations aimed at adaptation and mitigation of climate change. The south needs to strike a balance between creating jobs, building infrastructure, diversifying its industries and protecting its natural resources. The sun, wind and unexploited arable land are few of Africa’s opportunities. The potential for renewables on the continent is substantial and major environmental investments are being made.

African leaders are engaged in this path following their adoption of the sustainable development goals and ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, however this would not be possible without serious actions, reforms, adequate financing and regional and international cooperation.

Against this framework and aware of the crucial role that exchanges and financial markets’ authorities could play in promoting green finance, a number of African capital market authorities and exchanges (Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC) launched the  “Marrakech  Pledge”  for  “Fostering  Green  Capital  Markets  in  Africa”,  which  is  a  call  to  action  for  all  African  Capital  Markets  Regulators  and Exchanges to act collectively in favor of sustainable  development,  and  to  have  an  actual  impact on fostering Green Capital Markets in Africa.

It consists of engaging African Capital Markets Regulators and Exchanges to build a continental partnership, aimed at fostering Green Capital Markets in Africa, around a set of target voluntary commitments to be deployed and implemented over differentiated time horizons within respectively local markets and at the continental level.