Acknowledging the role and potential impact of Green Banking in the effective de-pollution efforts in the region, the Horizon H2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (CB/MEP) held a two-day national workshop in Tunis (24-25 April 2012) dedicated to this issue after a specific request from Tunisia and as a direct follow-up of last year’s regional workshop of H2020 CB/MEP on Green Banking in the Mediterranean (Barcelona, November 2011).
Acknowledging the role and potential impact of Green Banking in the effective de-pollution efforts in the region, the Horizon H2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (CB/MEP) held a two-day national workshop in Tunis (24-25 April 2012) dedicated to this issue after a specific request from Tunisia and as a direct follow-up of last year’s regional workshop of H2020 CB/MEP on Green Banking in the Mediterranean (Barcelona, November 2011).
More than 30 participants from all parts of the country attended the workshop. Entitled “Towards better environmental governance in the banking sector in Tunisia: Introduction to Green Finance (or Green Banking)”, the workshop focused on the role of Green Banking in the country’s transition to a Green Economy. The participants were all experienced professionals, mainly from the banking and insurance sectors, the central government (Ministries of Finance, Environment and Agriculture), professional organizations and civil society.
The main objective of the course was to promote environmental integration and mainstreaming into all economic sectors by strengthening the capacities of banks and financial institutions in Tunisia to promote and apply Green Banking, the broad objectives of which are to use resources with responsibility, preventing the generation of waste, while giving priority to environment and society. The banking sector can play a vital role in encouraging other industries to go green through promoting eco-friendly financing schemes and incentives to those that promote environmental practices. Finally, banks can also increase green initiatives within their own operations through shrinking environmental footprints, controlling costs and establishing recycling processes.
The workshop was organised by the Regional Activity Centre for Cleaner Production (CP/RAC) of UNEP/MAP in cooperation with the Tunisian Ministry for the Environment (General Directorate on Sustainable Development) and the Mediterranean Information Office for the Environment Culture and Sustainable Development (MIO-ECSDE).