OF
CENTRAL BANK KENYA
LAUNCH OF NSE LISTING RULES INCORPORATING LISTING
REQUIREMENTS FOR GREEN BONDS
Wednesday, February 20 2019
Keynote Address by
Dr. Patrick Njoroge, Governor, Central Bank of Kenya
659 words
Good morning!
First, I want to thank Geoffrey Odundo for getting me out of the office on this
fine Wednesday morning. I had a choice between attending a meeting in my
office - which overlooks a car park, by the way - and joining you, not just for
breakfast, but to breathe some fresh air. This was a good choice of hotel, seeing
as it is located in Central Park, which partly serves as a lung for this busy city.
When I was appointed to this position, one of the things I sought was regular
respite from the pressures of the job. I have told many of you the story before,
of how Karura Forest and my Saturday morning runs there help clear my head.
Some of you may have joined me on these runs.
I'm not just re-telling this story to prove my running credentials. Karura's
existence, and the dogged work put in by the late Professor Wangari Maathai,
brought home to Kenyans the value of protecting the environment. I need not
remind you that she was also instrumental, three decades ago, in protecting
Uhuru Park just next door, and keeping it safe for the people of Nairobi to use.
This was years before climate change and environmental protection became
buzzwords.
Kenya was a leader in proving the fact that the environment matters. We have
been leaders in establishing the principle that we have only borrowed this planet
from our children. So we now seek to lead the world in proving that being green
-
pays that we can take the great strengths of the financial industry and its
investment savvy and apply these to the task of protecting the earth and all who
live in it.
Kenya, therefore, is one of the pioneers in establishing the green bond market.
There is appetite for investing in Africa, in recognition that, of all the
investment bets you can make, this is the one that is sure to come up trumps.
There is also appetite, as I have mentioned, to use your investment muscle to do
-
good to help defend the planet against the ravages of climate change and
environmental damage. These two impulses come neatly together when we seek
to make Nairobi the global hub for green finance.
-
What must we do, then? What is my challenge to you? This what we are doing
-
here is a vital component. We must develop clear guidelines on green finance.
The temptation would be to be loose with definition and regulation, in order to
ensure that Nairobi is the entrepôt in this new, and essential, field of finance.
However, the entrepôt model can have its drawbacks. We must remember that
sometimes these may bring the detritus of trade, much as they could bring in
high quality commerce. We cannot accept, or afford, to give cover to those who
only wish to burnish their greenwashing credentials.
Thus, we must look at the highest quality of green bond issuance. The
guidelines that we are launching today should be guided by the Green Bond
Principles, which outline clearly how projects are selected, and how proceeds
are managed and used; as well as which information is disclosed to investors
and how. We must also position Nairobi to be a global centre for the green
assessment of bonds. Issues such as verification, consultant review and ratings
can be refined here, and we should develop and attract global experts in these
fields.
It is my hope that when we look back a decade or two hence, we will recall this
morning fondly, saying to each other that 'we were there', when we set Nairobi
on the path to being a capital of green bonds and green finance. And,
incidentally, finding me will be fairly easy. I will be the retired old man reading
a book under a tree in Uhuru Park!
Thank you for your attention.