Montreal, March 22, 2021 - FinDev Canada announced it is joining the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and committing to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its loans and investments. These financed emissions correspond to scope 3 emissions in the GHG Protocol (Category 15: Investments) and represent FinDev Canada’s largest source of GHG emissions.
PCAF is a collaboration between financial institutions worldwide to enable them to assess and disclose the GHG emissions of their loans and investments. The group is rapidly expanding with more than 100 banks, asset owners and asset managers having signed on to date, representing over $23 trillion in assets.
“Tackling climate change requires bold, meaningful and collective action. It also requires clear and consistent accounting practices. We are proud to join the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials to support the harmonization of reporting standards for the financial industry,” said Stéphanie Émond, Chief Impact Officer at FinDev Canada. “PCAF enables financial institutions to report on emissions transparently, on a comparable basis, which is critical to scale sustainable finance and bring in more investors to contribute to the net-zero carbon world that the Paris Climate Agreement calls for.”
As a development finance institution, FinDev Canada provides financial solutions to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, women’s economic empowerment and local market development. In addition to measuring and disclosing its financed GHG emissions, FinDev Canada actively invests to support climate solutions by financing renewable energy and forestry companies, for example.
“Climate action projects that we support make up a significant part of our portfolio,” said Charles Benoit, Climate Impact Officer at FinDev Canada. “With the PCAF accounting standards, we can assess more accurately our portfolio’s financed emissions, which is a key building block in developing our positioning on net-zero emissions. “
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About FinDev Canada:
Development Finance Institute Canada Inc., operating under the FinDev Canada brand, is a Canadian institution dedicated to providing financial services to the private sector in developing countries with the aim of combating poverty through economic growth by focusing on three main themes: economic development through job creation, women’s economic empowerment, and climate change mitigation. The Development Finance Institute Canada Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Export Development Canada (EDC). Find out more about FinDev Canada here.
About the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)
In September 2019, the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) was launched globally. Currently, more than 100 banks and investors have subscribed to the PCAF initiative. PCAF participants work together to jointly develop the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry to measure and disclose the greenhouse emissions of their loans and investments. By doing so, PCAF participants take an important step to assess climate-related risks, set targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and develop effective strategies to decarbonize our society. For more information see https://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/
Media contacts:
FinDev Canada
Angela Rodriguez
Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist
arodriguez@findevcanada.ca
PCAF
Angélica Afanador
Manager, PCAF Secretariat
info@carbonaccountingfinancials.com