Egypt’s Regional Center for Sustainable Finance (RCSF), an affiliate of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), has signed the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance as a founding party of the agreement.
The signing was undertaken by CEO of RCSF, Sina Habous, and came during the centre’s virtual participation in an African conference, held under the auspices of the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) initiative of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) last month.
Under this declaration, leaders of the insurance industry in Africa are committed to supporting the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Habous said that the declaration aims to accelerate solutions to major sustainability challenges, especially in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has slowed SDG achievement.
The SDGs come with a common global vision that focuses on: eradicating poverty; saving the planet from climate change; loss of biological diversity; degradation of the ecosystem; and pollution; and target building a prosperous and peaceful world. However, the pace of progressing towards these goals has been slow.
Habous added that, given the key role of the insurance industry in promoting economic, social and environmental sustainability, representatives of the insurance industry participating in the conference declared their commitment to measures to assess the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.
They would also uncover risks and opportunities related to climate change in accordance with the recommendations of the work group, to disclose the financial impacts of climate change.
This work group is affiliated to the Financial Stability Board, known as the Task Force on Climate Financial Disclosure (TCFD).
Habous explained that the Nairobi Declaration included ensuring that Africa’s insurance industry supports the SDGs within the insurance industry itself, and utilising insurance products and solutions to help reach these goals.
Moreover, special attention will be given to insurance investments supporting the transition towards a resilient economy that is free of emissions.
This is in addition to engaging with policy makers and regulatory bodies and industry associations to address the key sustainability issues of the African insurance industry.
