Over 200 stakeholders trained to put Sri Lanka’s Green Finance Taxonomy into practice

Colombo, June 9 (Daily Mirror) - More than 200 representatives from Sri Lanka’s financial sector, corporate institutions and public agencies have been trained on the practical implementation of the country’s Green Finance Taxonomy under a European Union-backed initiative aimed at accelerating sustainable investments.

The programme marks a key step in moving the Green Finance Taxonomy from policy to practice, enabling banks, financial institutions and businesses to better identify, classify and finance environmentally sustainable projects.

Developed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and published in 2022, the Green Finance Taxonomy serves as a national framework for determining which economic activities can be considered environmentally sustainable. The framework is expected to help channel more investment into climate-friendly and green development projects while improving transparency in the financial sector.

The implementation initiative was launched by Expertise France under the European Union-funded Green Recovery Facility Project, following a request from the Governor of the Central Bank. The project was carried out in collaboration with the CBSL's Macroprudential Surveillance Department.

Officials said the initiative is expected to improve access to sustainable finance, support the creation of green financial products and strengthen the ability of financial institutions to identify and assess environmentally sustainable investments.

The programme was implemented in two stages. The first focused on identifying priority sectors and assessing the readiness and capacity gaps among stakeholders. The second phase involved the development of practical tools to facilitate implementation, including reporting guidelines, sector-specific guidance and a screening tool for evaluating green investments.

Following the completion and validation of these resources, a series of awareness and capacity-building sessions were conducted in May this year.

The sessions brought together over 200 participants from the Central Bank, licensed banks and finance companies, corporate entities, accreditation and certification bodies, and public sector institutions. Participants received hands-on guidance on applying the taxonomy, meeting reporting requirements and designing financial products aligned with sustainable finance principles.

Officials said the rollout of the Green Finance Taxonomy represents an important milestone in Sri Lanka’s efforts to build a greener and more resilient economy. With the approval of the CBSL Board and plans to make the guidelines and tools publicly accessible, the framework is expected to strengthen institutional capacity, enhance transparency and encourage greater investment in environmentally sustainable activities.