Gabon: FGIS becomes the first African sovereign wealth fund to join the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance – VivAfrik

FGIS  – Continuing its commitment to sustainability, the Gabonese Fund for Strategic Investments (FGIS) has become the first African sovereign wealth fund to join the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, created by the United Nations. With close to $2 billion in assets under management, FGIS aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its portfolio by 2050, set milestones every five years and submit an annual monitoring report.

Created in September 2019 at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance is an international group of investors committed to transitioning their investment portfolios to carbon neutrality by at 2050.

As part of the Paris Agreement, signatories to the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance established National Commitments (NDCs) and pledged to present a new (more ambitious) set of National Commitments every five years. By joining the Alliance, the FGIS will benefit from the advice and tools of the Alliance to set and achieve its commitments and thus support Gabon’s transition towards a zero carbon objective.

Through this new collaboration, the Gabonese Fund for Strategic Investments has made a decisive commitment to decarbonization at all levels of the economy, in line with the Transformation Acceleration Plan (PAT) set by the President of the Republic, His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Akim Mohamed Daouda, ADG of FGIS, said: “As a country where 88% of the territory is covered by forests and which absorbed 187 million tonnes of CO2 between 2010 and 2018, Gabon is a carbon sink. Reducing emissions in pursuit of a zero carbon goal is thus a guideline of FGIS activities. Our membership of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance is part of this commitment, as well as our desire to further promote green investments in Gabon”.

Günther Thallinger, Board Member of Allianz SE and Chairman of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, said: “The Gabonese Fund for Strategic Investments’ membership of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance will support no doubt the country’s transition towards the implementation of the commitments of the Paris Agreement. The Alliance is particularly enthusiastic about hosting an African sovereign wealth fund and looks forward to collaborating in scaling up blended finance for climate solutions. We invite other sovereign wealth funds to take the same step”.

About FGIS

The Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund is the exclusive manager of the Sovereign Fund of the Gabonese Republic and of the unallocated participations in the Gabonese State’s portfolio. The Fund invests for the realization of shared prosperity for the benefit of the Gabonese people and future generations. As a partner in government action, defined in the 2021-2023 Transformation Acceleration Plan, the Fund operates in three strategic sectors: infrastructure financing, support for SMEs and support for social sectors. Its approach is guided by three fundamental principles: sustainability of impact, innovation and risk mitigation for its stakeholders. Investing for shared prosperity in Gabon

About the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance

The 73 members of the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, created at the initiative of the United Nations, have pledged to i) make their investment portfolios zero-emission greenhouse gases by 2050, respecting a maximum temperature increase of 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels; (ii) to set intermediate objectives every five years; and (iii) report regularly on progress. The Alliance is organized by the UNEP Finance Initiative and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The Alliance is part of the “Race to Zero” and is supported by WWF and Global Optimism, an initiative led by Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

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