Johannesburg, South Africa [28 March 2025] – The first Africa Sustainability Forum, co-hosted by the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), South Africa’s National Treasury, and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), concluded with remarkable success on 27–28 March 2025 in Johannesburg.
This G20 side event brought together policymakers, financial leaders, investors, and industry experts (in-person and online) to explore pathways for advancing Africa’s sustainable finance market. More than 240 participants from 24 countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Ghana, and Botswana, as well as representatives from Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, attended the event in person. Several hundred more joined virtually from over 40 countries.
Over the course of the two-day forum, a diverse group of speakers and panellists shared best practices and insights across a wide range of topics, with a focus on applications in Africa. These included: sustainable finance policy frameworks and taxonomies to guide investments; sustainability disclosures to support transparency and alignment with international standards; strategies for accelerating the energy transition through renewable investments; innovative blended finance tools to drive green industrialisation; enhancing the role of carbon markets in supporting climate initiatives and preserving biodiversity; and financing solutions for climate adaptation and resilience.
Ma Jun, Chairman of CASI and President of the Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS), highlighted Africa’s abundant natural resources, renewable energy potential, and agricultural capacity, noting that these position the continent to benefit from green growth strategies. He stated:
“Africa can address its energy shortage by rapidly deploying renewable energy – such as solar, wind, hydro, and energy storage facilities. It can implement green mining practices to supply low-carbon minerals to the global value chain. Africa should promote its agricultural products as green and organic to gain better access and pricing in global markets. Additionally, Africa can better leverage Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to sell carbon credits to other countries.”
Marcos Neto, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support, and Head of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) Secretariat, emphasised that while Africa contributes less than 4% of global GHG emissions, it is disproportionately affected by climate risks. He stressed the importance of capacity building to close knowledge gaps in policy, access, and technical skills – particularly for mobilising public and private finance. He noted that the G20 endorsed a Technical Assistance Action Plan in 2023 to support capacity-building ecosystems in emerging economies. Platforms like CASI and PISTA —a UNDP initiative aiming to unlock $500 million in investment for 50 projects over the next four years —should play a vital role in this process.
Gcobisa Magazi, Director in the Deputy Director-General’s Office of South Africa’s National Treasury, spoke on behalf of the G20 South African Presidency. She underscored the need for a sustainable finance taxonomy to classify investments by environmental and social impact. For maximum impact, taxonomies must be interoperable to facilitate cross-border investments, particularly within regions sharing similar characteristics. She also highlighted the importance of green bonds, carbon taxes, and inclusive finance for SMEs and vulnerable communities in supporting climate action.
Wang Xin, Director-General of the Research Bureau at the People’s Bank of China and Co-Chair of the G20 SFWG, noted that global warming, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss not only challenge economic sustainability but also increase public health risks. He emphasised the need for governments, international organisations, and all sectors of society to enhance research on climate-related health impacts, build consensus, and take action. Key measures he proposed included integrating health risks into national climate strategies, strengthening monitoring and early warning systems, improving healthcare system resilience, and leveraging finance to support health adaptation.
Nan Li Collins, Senior Director of Investment and Enterprise at UNCTAD, stressed that expanding sustainable investment in developing markets requires better data on underlying assets, improved disclosures, and strong reporting frameworks. She emphasised the need for enhanced regulatory oversight to attract investors and create price premiums for carbon credit projects, supported by robust verification mechanisms and balanced regulations. Transparency, credibility, and trust are foundational to building effective sustainable markets.
At the Forum, CASI announced the launch of new modules in its online learning platform, CASI Academy. Cheng Lin, Head of the CASI Secretariat, introduced new features including AI Avatars to enhance the learning experience. CASI Academy now offers 26 online course modules covering a wide range of topics, including new subjects such as carbon markets and green insurance. CASI plans to develop more modules for Levels 2 and 3, aiming to reach 100 modules by the end of 2026. Certification for these courses will also be introduced to enhance the qualification and recognition in line with competency framework.
A key highlight of the forum was a half-day field visit to Mintek, where participants explored South Africa’s advancements in hydrogen fuel cell technologies. Company representatives shared insights on critical mineral innovation and commercial applications of hydrogen and power cells across the continent.
In closing, Ma Jun summarised key strategies for reducing the cost of financing sustainable projects in Africa. These included concessional funding from multilateral development banks and aid programmes, fiscal subsidies for green loans and bonds, central bank lending facilities, blended finance structures with de-risking components, donor-supported technical assistance to improve project bankability, and the voluntary carbon market. He invited South Africa to consider joining the Multi-jurisdiction Common Ground Taxonomy (MCGT) to support the interoperability of sustainable finance taxonomies across Africa. He also encouraged the use of Core Carbon Principles to harmonise voluntary carbon market standards and promote cross-border carbon credit trading to support African climate initiatives. Ma Jun concluded by inviting stakeholders to deepen collaboration with CASI to build sustainable investment capacity in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs).
The Forum was supported by various knowledge partners and organisations, including WWF's Greening Financial Regulation Initiative, ACCA, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Standard Bank, Bank of China – Johannesburg Branch and Risk Insights. It showcased Africa’s growing potential in the global sustainable finance ecosystem and highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts in realising that potential.
CASI will host its next Sustainability Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the end of July.
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For media enquiry about CASI, please contact:
Ms Jessica Tsang, CASI
Email: jessica.tsang@sprinkles.org.hk
Tel: +852 96630780
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About Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI):
The Capacity-building Alliance for Sustainable Investment (CASI) is an international cooperation platform aiming to deliver higher-quality and higher-impact sustainable finance capacity building services for developing countries, via developing a “global aggregator and distributor of sustainable finance knowledge”. Since its official launch in December 2023, CASI has over 60 member institutions including financial companies, associations, NGOs, service start-ups and higher education institutions, covering Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and other emerging markets.
For more information about our members and CASI, please visit our website: www.casi.net .
About South African Reserve Bank (SARB)
The South African Reserve Bank (the Bank) is the central bank of South Africa. The primary purpose of the Bank is to achieve and maintain price stability in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth. Together with other institutions, it also plays a pivotal role in ensuring financial stability.
In terms of section 224 of the Constitution, 1996, the South African Reserve Bank, in pursuit of its primary object, must perform its functions independently and without fear, favour or prejudice, but there must be regular consultation between the Bank and the Cabinet member responsible for national financial matters'. The independence and autonomy of the Bank are therefore entrenched in the Constitution.
In pursuit of its mandate and purpose, the Bank performs the following key functions: formulating and implementing monetary policy; promoting financial stability; regulating and supervising the banking and insurance industry through the Prudential Authority; issuing banknotes and coins; managing the official gold and foreign-exchange (FX) reserves of the country; undertaking data analysis and research; ensuring the effective functioning of the National Payment System; administering the country's remaining exchange controls; and acting as banker to government.
For more information: www.resbank.co.za
