ASFI Newsletter – November

This month, ASFI in partnership with the Green Building Council Australia (GBCA) launched a practical guide to help demystify sustainable finance and its application in the Australian real estate sector. The first-of-its-kind guide explains the various sustainable finance mechanisms that are currently being used and how they can apply in the Australian property market.

We were pleased to see a fantastic turnout at our public webinar on November 16, where we heard an update on the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s $1 billion Household Energy Upgrade Fund, and explored international approaches to supporting residential retrofits. The webinar featured a fantastic panel of practitioners from the UK and the US who shared their experience designing and implementing a range of home finance products.

Join us on Wednesday 6 December from 9:00am-10:00am (AEDT) for the second Taxonomy Information Forum webinar, at which ASFI’s Taxonomy Project Lead, Nicole Yazbek-Martin, will introduce the key methodological design features of the Australian sustainable finance taxonomy.

Read on to learn more about the above developments, and to find a complete roundup of ASFI’s latest work and progress.

ASFI 2023 Work Program

Enabling Sustainable Finance

Sustainable Finance Taxonomy

ASFI will host our second Taxonomy Information Forum webinar on Wednesday 6 December from 9:00am-10:00am (AEDT), at which ASFI’s Taxonomy Project Lead, Nicole Yazbek-Martin, will introduce the key methodological design features of the Australian sustainable finance taxonomy.
These features, which have been endorsed by the Taxonomy Technical Expert Group, form the basis on which the Australian taxonomy’s technical screening and further qualifying criteria will be developed over the next twelve months. They are set out in two methodology reports that will be released ahead of the webinar.
The first report defines “green” and “transition” and how sectors and activities will be assessed as eligible or not for inclusion in the taxonomy under these labels. The second report explains the process for determining the classification of other environmental objectives and social considerations in the taxonomy, and how they will be defined for the purpose of ensuring that green and transition activities that support climate change mitigation do not undermine Australia’s other sustainability goals.
The first five sector and subject-specific taxonomy advisory groups have been constituted and are each meeting for a second time this week. A list of taxonomy advisory group members, and more about the role of the advisory groups, can be found here. Additional taxonomy advisory groups will be established in the first quarter of 2024, covering other priority sectors for development under the Australian taxonomy.
Taxonomy Project Lead Nicole Yazbek-Martin was named in The Australian’s 2023 Green Energy Players List. Nicole has been instrumental in leading the scoping and development of the Australian Taxonomy Project. We congratulate TTEG members Emma Herd, Tennant Reed and Sarah Barker who were also named on the list.

Natural Capital

On October 25, ASFI and Farming for the Future (FftF) held the second meeting of the Natural Capital Advisory Group (NCAG) as part of our Valuing Natural Capital program of work that is seeking to integrate natural capital into financial decision making. The meeting with our participating members was used to learn more about natural capital accounting principles and to commence exploration of FftF’s research methodology, target outcomes and research outputs.
In case you missed it, a new legal opinion commissioned by Pollination Law with the Commonwealth Climate and Law Initiative has found that company directors have an obligation under Australian corporations law to consider their company’s exposure to nature-related risks. Those who fail to do so risk being found liable for breaching their duty of care and diligence. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) defines “nature-related risks” as “potential threats (effects of uncertainty) posed to an organisation that arise from its and wider society’s dependencies and impacts on nature”.
On 7 November, the Australian Government, via the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), extended an invitation to provide feedback on how the agriculture and land sectors can play a part in the economy-wide Net Zero 2050 Plan (which will align with nature positive goals). This marks the first public consultation on the 6 sectoral plans to reduce emissions that the Government is working on, these being: agriculture and land, electricity and energy, industry, resources, the built environment, and transport. Feedback is open until 13 December; you can read more about this here and here.
On 10 November, the DCCEEW announced they will be conducting a rolling consultation series on the new Nature Positive laws; the series started with a public webinar on the 23rd of this month and a second one will be held on the 28th (both covering the same content). The webinars explain how proposed changes to Australia’s environmental laws are designed to work and how they compare to existing laws. This will be followed by a question-and-answer session. You can read more about this and register for the webinars here.

Policy Engagement

On November 2, Treasury released the Government’s much-anticipated Sustainable Finance Strategy consultation paper. In case you missed it, you can find ASFI’s early analysis of the paper and media release here. We’ll be making a submission to the consultation and will publish it on our website when it’s finalised. If you would like to make a submission, the closing date is 1 December.
ASFI will be attending this year’s UNFCCC Conference of the Parties ‘COP28’ and are delighted to be hosting a panel event, ‘Accelerating transition finance for climate action’, at the Australian Pavilion in the ‘Blue Zone’ (where the official negotiations take place) on December 9 at 4:30pm. This event will explore the challenges and opportunities of mobilising finance and investment for transition activities including:
- What is transition finance and why is it needed to achieve the Paris Agreement goals?
- What are the barriers to transition finance, particularly in the Asia-Pacific?
- What approaches are different countries taking to solving this challenge through the development of taxonomies and other sustainable finance tools?
- How can Australia leverage its experience to support partner countries, particularly in the Asia-Pacific, secure transition finance?
We have also put together a dedicated COP 28 page on our website, which includes a calendar of sustainable finance related events to be hosted throughout the conference. If you or your organisation would like to advertise any further COP28 events, please get in touch with Isobella.

Finance Sector Leadership

ASFI is excited to have commenced the first cohort of our sustainable finance mentorship program ‘Limitless’. On October 25, we hosted a mixer event in Sydney where mentees had the opportunity to ‘speed meet’ mentors. Mentees and mentors have now been paired and we look forward to the outcomes of each mentoring session, which will run until June 2024. More information about the program is available on our website.
Earlier this month, ASFI held the final meeting of our Leadership Working Group for 2023. The session focused on ‘leading the sector’ and explored the benefits and risks for organisations taking a leadership role in the sector, how partnerships can reduce risk and accelerate change and the role and mindset of systems leaders.

First Nations and Finance

We are excited to be holding the second meeting of our First Nations Reference Group later this week. The Reference Group has been formed to guide our First Nations and Finance program of work. Further information about our First Nations work program and the group, including a full list of participants, is now available on our website.
A key theme which emerged from our Australian Sustainable Finance Summit on October 24 was the opportunity to support economic self-determination for First Nations Australians through finance. Among highlights from the day was a keynote address from Mark Podlasly, Chief Sustainability Officer at Canada’s First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC), who outlined the work of the FNMPC, experiences from Canada and how Australia can draw on these learnings to achieve a step change in economic reconciliation. We are pleased to share that a recording of Mark’s address can be found on the ASFI website.

Sustainable Finance Solutions

As outlined, on November 16 ASFI brought together pioneers in home retrofit finance to explore the approaches being deployed in UK and US to accelerate home energy upgrades. Speakers Grace Tam, Emma Harvey-Smith, Bruce Mast, Jayson Uppal, Bill Peterson, Erika Moreira Baker and Jeremy Sung provided insights and inspiration as the CEFC looks to roll out its $1bn Home Energy Upgrade Program (CEFC expects to issue a notice to market by early next year seeking proposals from financial intermediaries). Speakers shared their wisdom and experience across a range of topics including: green home loans, on-bill finance, on-property finance, consumer demand, safety and consumer protection, and the role of policy and regulation. A recording of the webinar is available here.
ASFI in partnership with the Green Building Council Australia (GBCA) have launched a practical guide to help demystify sustainable finance and its application in the Australian real estate sector. The first-of-its-kind guide explains the various sustainable finance mechanisms that are currently being used and how they can apply in the Australian property market.
We were excited to have the opportunity to hear exclusive remarks from Rhian-Mari Thomas, CEO of the Green Finance Institute (GFI) at our Australian Sustainable Finance Summit last month. Rhian outlined the work of the GFI in bridging the ‘execution gap’ between the commitments and intentions of private capital, and the genuine bankable opportunities to achieve climate and social goals. A recording of Rhian’s address is available here.

Events and Opportunities

Events

ASFI is hosting a range of upcoming events which we welcome your participation in. Please see our sustainable finance events calendar to find further upcoming industry events.

Taxonomy Information Forum: Methodological Design Features of the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy

December 6, 9:00am-10:00am AEDT, online

Join us on Wednesday 6 December from 9:00-10:00am (AEDT) for the second Taxonomy Information Forum webinar, at which ASFI’s Taxonomy Project Lead, Nicole Yazbek-Martin, will introduce the key methodological design features of the Australian sustainable finance taxonomy. Register here.
There will be an opportunity for Q&A, and a recording of the webinar will be published on ASFI's website. If you didn't catch the first Taxonomy Information Forum webinar, you can access the recording on our website.

ASFI at COP 28: Accelerating transition finance for climate action

December 9, 4:30pm-5:30pm at the Australian Pavilion, Blue Zone, COP 28 Dubai

Transition activities are activities such as mining and industrial production that are emissions intensive, and need significant capital to decarbonise. The lack of common definitions for transition activities is a major barrier to finance and investment in the emissions intensive economies of the Asia-Pacific (including Australia). This event will explore the challenges and opportunities of mobilising finance and investment for transition activities.
Learn more here. Please note this is an in-person only event.

Friends of Sustainable Finance Drinks

December 14, 6:00pm-8:00pm at The Jetty, Canberra

ASFI is delighted to invite you to our annual 'Friends of Sustainable Finance Drinks', this year hosted in partnership with Investor Group on Climate Change and Responsible Investment Association Australasia.
Join us for casual drinks by Lake Burley Griffin to reflect on 2023 and meet others working in sustainable finance in Canberra across the public and private sectors. Please register here.

In case you missed it

On October 24, ASFI held our second annual Australian Sustainable Finance Summit. You can find our 2023 Summit outcomes report here. A select number of session recordings are also now up on our website.

Opportunities

There are a range of exciting positions currently advertised on our Sustainable Finance Jobs Board. You can also subscribe to our Job Alerts for regular updates.

Current opportunities include:

If you would like to advertise any current jobs in sustainable finance on our website, please complete this form.