you to consider the following two dimensions that stretch beyond pure cost - benefit imperatives : the intertemporal dimension, meaning that such adaptations are likely to yield'green'benefits in the form of a less climatesensitive environment and that stretch beyond pure pecuniary ones ; and the intergenerational dimension, meaning that we are bequeathing to generations of tomorrow a cleaner and safer environment. looking at things from the vantage point of both dimensions, i can assert that the benefits far outweigh the costs and will result in positive externalities. in fact, looking back 20 years from now or beyond, finance pundits will be in a better position to ascertain the'green component'from various returns on investment or on capital metrics. i understand that the importance of green finance is gradually increasing in the banking sector. as at 30 june 2023, the banking sector's total exposure in mur to sustainable projects was estimated at rs 6. 9bn, compared to rs4. 2bn a year earlier. ladies and gentlemen at this juncture, it is imperative that we follow the international best practices to uphold our reputation as a trusted international financial centre. investors will require adequate confidence to channel funds to our jurisdiction. a robust disclosure framework will need to take centre stage to calm down the nerves of potential investors regarding the possibility of greenwashing. on that front, mauritius cannot lag behind in terms of the implementation of globally agreed standards and practices. companies would have to master the reporting in accordance with the requirements of the international sustainability standards board, more specifically sustainability standards 1 and 2. failure to do so may result in small countries such as ours losing not only on climate finance flows, but on revenue as well as exports are likely to face difficulties fitting into value chains of developed country industries because of upstream climate reporting exigencies. i take this opportunity to call upon listed and unlisted companies to start reflecting on how to take on board esg considerations in their businesses and strategies in anticipation of the future phasing in of ifrs s1 and s2 disclosure requirements in mauritius. i am informed that the financial reporting council will hold a workshop in 3 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches may 2024 on how to operationalise and implement the ifrs foundation's international sustainability standards board ( issb ) s1 and s2 standards. ladies and gentlemen let me now provide you with some insights on climate change at the level of the bank

towards esg projects such as renewable energy and access to essential services such as education and healthcare. 4 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches the adoption of esg by central banks should be consistent with the existing reserve management framework. in our case, we consider esg not only for financial reasons but also to manage reputational risk and to set a good example. we strongly believe that esg analysis could improve risk management functions and support the safety objective of reserves in the long run. nevertheless, for the portion of reserves allocated to high quality agency and corporate bonds, we have incorporated esg considerations. we also focus on impact investing. over the past few years, we have gradually built up a portfolio of labelled bonds, commonly known as green bonds, social bonds and sustainable bonds. we believe that esg integration, using tools like esg scores, can broaden investment and risk analysis and allow our reserve management team to account for emerging risks from a new lens. there is broad consensus across the world that sound climate information architecture, in terms of reliable data, green taxonomy and disclosures as per global standards, is key to improving market confidence, safeguarding financial stability, and fostering sustainable finance. lack of data severely impedes the ability of governments, regulators and businesses to prepare for and respond to climate change. investors need reliable, accurate, timely, relevant and comparable data to assess risks and identify investable green and transition projects. unfortunately, the climate - related data capture ecosystem in many parts of the world, including mauritius, is limited due to numerous challenges. this is a common phenomenon plaguing nearly all countries in africa. currently, climate disclosure requirements are not mandatory for private and public firms in many countries but we expect this state of affairs to evolve with time. let me share with you how data gaps have constrained the bank of mauritius from imposing wider disclosure requirements on our regulatees. our guideline requires banks to disclose, in their annual reports as from 31 december 2023, information on climate risks on four pillars, namely governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets. banks have also been advised to consider guidance provided by the financial stability board's task force on climate - related financial disclosures. the bank conducted a survey in september 2023 to assess the level of compliance of banks with respect to the provisions of the guideline. it was noted that while banks have incorporated climate risks in their governance, strategy and risk management frameworks, they were facing challenges with respect to