Representatives from almost 200 nations, business and finance leaders, and civil society members convened in Dubai from November 30 to December 12 for the COP28 climate conference, aiming to expedite the shift toward a clean-energy future. A notable highlight of this year’s COP28 was the side event titled “Gender Finance – the time is now!” jointly organized by the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) on December 3. Experts from LuxSE, UN Women, the European Investment Bank, Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, and Tanzania NMB Bank participated in the forum. Prof. Wang Yao, the Director General of the International Institute of Green Finance at Central University of Finance and Economics, along with Deputy Directors Dr. Cui Ying and Dr. Shi Lin from IIGF, were invited to attend the event.
Laetitia Hamon, the Head of Sustainable Finance at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), underscored the significance of gender finance and the formidable challenges women encounter in accessing financial resources in her opening speech. Dr. Jemimah Njuki, Chief of the Economic Empowerment section at UN Women, presented a global perspective, emphasizing the need for an additional $360 billion annually for gender equality in developing countries. Laura Piovesan, the Director General of the European Investment Bank, discussed “Smart Gender Climate Investment” programs in countries such as Spain, Brazil, and Tanzania, underscoring the critical role of measuring and tracking data in gender finance. An expert from NMB Bank in Tanzania shared a case study, underscoring the bank’s distinction as the first in Sub-Saharan Africa to launch gender-focused bonds. He emphasized the critical importance of enhancing women’s financial literacy and highlighted the necessity of clear, well-structured reporting based on accurate data from financial institutions.
During the forum, Paul Chahine, Sustainable Finance Manager at LuxSE, led an interactive masterclass on Gender Finance, providing essential market insights, case studies, best practices, perspectives and experiences from issuers of gender-focused bonds to the audience.
After the forum, experts from IIGF engaged in discussions and idea exchange with experts from LuxSE and the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance concerning gender finance-related topics. Professor Wang Yao provided an overview of IIGF’s research progress and its current development status in the field of gender finance. During the past year, the institute successfully hosted the “Her Power” series of salon events, conducted a comprehensive baseline study on “China’s Financial Support for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,” collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on the research project “Green Inclusive Finance Supporting the Development of Female Micro-Entrepreneurs,” and is set to lead the research project “Green Finance Supporting Gender Finance” for the Green Finance Committee (GFC) of the China Society for Finance and Banking. These initiatives lay a solid foundation for further exploration of financial innovation to support gender equality and the sustainable development of women. Professor Wang Yao expressed her hope to advance the establishment of a joint Women’s Finance Special Working Group between China and Luxembourg, with the aim of collaboratively promoting gender finance research and accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals.