Manaus, Brazil, Jun 13 (EFE).- The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its private arm, IDB Invest, announced on Thursday that they would launch an Amazon bond this year, enabling countries in the region to secure resources to finance sustainable projects.
The bond will be issued by the countries, but the IDB will set the guidelines, the type of projects to which the resources will be allocated, and the objectives, explained officials during Sustainability Week, organized by IDB Invest in the Brazilian city of Manaus.
IDB President Ilan Goldfajn stated that the details of the bond’s “taxonomy” are still being defined, but the intention is to launch this new financial instrument during the second half of the year.
“There is a global demand to come here (to the Amazon region), and there is a need for these resources to be well utilized,” he told a press conference.
Goldfajn emphasized that the aim is to avoid any suspicion of greenwashing, and the regulation will be defined “very clearly.”
Until the bonds are launched, the IDB president assured that Amazonian countries will have access to other existing instruments from the bank to finance sustainable projects.
Sustainability Week has brought together 900 people in Manaus, located in the heart of the world’s largest tropical forest, to discuss the challenges facing Latin America and the Caribbean over three days.
Among the panel participants were executives from banks and companies, NGO representatives, and leaders of multilateral institutions. EFE