BBVA’s Antoni Ballabriga to represent European banks at the UN initiative for Sustainable Finance (UNEP FI)
Antoni Ballabriga, BBVA’s Global Head of Responsible Business, has been chosen to represent European banks on the Global Steering Committee of the UNEP FI Sustainable Finance Forum from 2018-2020. The candidacy led by Ballabriga was the most voted of a total of eight candidates in the running.
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is a global alliance promoted by the UN in partnership with over 200 institutions, including banks, insurers & investors. UNEP FI aims to build links between the environment and financial activity to support a sustainable world.
Through a broad activity program, UNEP FI develops its mission of promoting the best environmental and sustainable practices across all areas of financial activity and regions of the world.
As of January 1, Antoni Ballabriga will be responsible for leading the position of EU banks in the Global Steering Committee of the UNEP FI Sustainable Finance Forum. On the other hand, Brandee McHale, president of the Citi Foundation and director of Corporate Citizenship at Citi, has been appointed as America representative on the Committee and and Musa Salah, head of Environmental Matters and Sustainability of Ecobank Transnational Inc. as Africa and the Middle East representative.
At UNEP FI, we hope to be able to share and work collectively so that the financial industry can increasingly contribute in a positive manner to the lives of people across the globe"
After being elected from among eight candidates, Ballabriga said, “Being part of this UNEP FI Committee is a huge responsibility and a major challenge. Today, the world is at a turning point in the fight against climate change and the UN sustainable development agenda. At UNEP FI, we hope to be able to share and work collectively so that the financial industry can increasingly contribute in a positive manner to the lives of people across the globe.”
Antoni Ballabriga recently took part in the event organize by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the context of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) held in Bonn (Germany), where he had the opportunity to share BBVA’s vision of green finance.
Antoni Ballabriga will be responsible for leading the position of EU banks in the Global Steering Committee of the UNEP FI Sustainable Finance Forum.
In this forum, he said that “halting climate change will require an ambitious collective contribution from financial sector. Banks have a key role to play given their unique position in facilitating the capital flows through their lending, investment and advisory roles.”
As part of its environmental commitment, BBVA joined the UNEP FI in 1998. It is also one of the 16 leading banks participating in the pilot project to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD). This initiative promotes transparency regarding the exposure of financial institutions to climate-related risks and opportunities.