SADC Green Finance Demand Study Final Report

The report identifies a significant climate finance gap in the SADC region, estimating cumulative adaptation and mitigation needs at USD 200 billion for 2020-2030. While South Africa dominates the current market, the study finds that corporate issuers remain inactive compared to banks and sovereigns. Key barriers include a lack of bankable projects, limited institutional capacity, and shallow domestic capital markets in most member states. The report recommends strengthening the expertise of regulators and stock exchanges, establishing national champions, and incentivizing banks to develop eligible project portfolios.

• The SADC region faces a substantial climate finance shortfall, with cumulative adaptation and mitigation financing needs for 2020-2030 estimated at approximately USD 200 billion, an amount that exceeds government budget capacities.
• Green Bond issuance in the SADC region is heavily concentrated in South Africa, which accounted for 16 of the 20 total issuances and approximately 90% of the total value (USD 2,921 million) as of the reporting period.
• Corporate issuers in SADC are significantly less active than banks and sovereigns, which differs from advanced economies where corporates are the largest issuer group; this inactivity is attributed to limited numbers of listed firms and short financing tenors in local markets.
• The primary constraint for Green Bond issuance in South Africa is the lack of bankable and eligible projects, exacerbated by COVID-19 uncertainty and regulatory hurdles for small Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
• In SADC countries other than South Africa, the main barriers are shallow domestic capital markets and a lack of technical expertise among market participants, necessitating the use of international capital markets and the appointment of 'national champions'.
• Potential issuers in the region are diversifying geographically, with banks in Botswana and Zambia, and the Government of Namibia, expressing interest in future Green Bond issuances.
• Existing Green Bond taxonomies are often based on European or US conditions and may not suit local African needs, such as the exclusion of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) or the impracticality of a full shift to electric vehicles due to infrastructure gaps.
• The report suggests that Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) could stimulate the market by providing financial intermediary loans to banks, with the condition that these portfolios are later refinanced through Green Bond issuance.

APA

FSD Africa (2022). SADC Green Finance Demand Study Final Report. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-SADC-Green-Finance-Study-Final-202225-1.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. SADC Green Finance Demand Study Final Report. 2022. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-SADC-Green-Finance-Study-Final-202225-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=SADC Green Finance Demand Study Final Report |date=31 January 2022 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-SADC-Green-Finance-Study-Final-202225-1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2022sadc, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{SADC Green Finance Demand Study Final Report}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/FSD-Africa-SADC-Green-Finance-Study-Final-202225-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }