The Climate Governance Initiative Mauritius (CGI Mauritius), considered as an advocacy forum of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD), held, on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 at the its headquarters, a session entitled “Just Transition Finance”, in collaboration with its founding member the MCB Group, and relying on the support of United Nations Environment – Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
The session was designed for directors, business leaders, experts, and professionals, serving as a space to foster dialogue on the need to integrate the social dimension of transitioning to a low-carbon economy into the governance and strategies of local institutions.
Adopted by 195 Parties at COP30 in November 2025, the Belém Action Mechanism implemented the first United Nations institutional mechanism dedicated to fair transition, placing the social and equity dimensions at the centre of international climate policies.
Launched in October 2023 in collaboration with HSBC Mauritius, which is the Founding Member of the MIoD, CGI Mauritius is the Mauritius Chapter of the global network of the Chapter Zero Alliance, present in more than 70 countries.
As MIoD’s advocacy forum, it equips boards of directors and business leaders with the necessary skills to integrate climate change into strategic decisions, through thematic sessions, an accredited program and practical tools for the local business community.
A presentation was held by Just Transition Specialist and Social and Human Rights Lead Joana Pedro, both hailing from UNEP FI, who came to share the teachings from a pilot program conducted over one year by UNEP FI with more than a dozen banks and insurers around the world.
Chief Executive Officer of the MIoD and Chairman of the Steering Committee of CGI Mauritius, Sheila Ujoodha, commented: “A climate transition is built as much in the way it is conducted as in the objective it pursues. The just transition adds precisely this dimension to the climate governance agenda: It invites the boards of directors to examine how the costs and benefits of a transition plan are distributed, who the workers are supported in gearing towards new skills, and which communities, among the most vulnerable, are most exposed to future changes. It is a question of governance in its own right: It links the responsibility of the boards of directors towards all their stakeholders. Through the Climate Governance Initiative Mauritius, the MIoD wants regulators, financial institutions and companies to move forward on these issues in a coordinated manner, so that the Mauritius transition is as fair as it is rigorous.”
First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Rajeev Hasnah, stressed: “The Bank of Mauritius has undertaken, over the past few years, structured work on the supervision of climate risk, through prudential guidelines for financial institutions, progressive reporting requirements in terms of sustainability and alignment with international disclosure standards. The just transition completes this framework with a dimension that existing approaches must integrate: the social effects of a transition plan, on workers as well as the communities concerned. As financial institutions refine their transition plans, this is a dimension to consider from the design stage.”
On the other hand, the Sustainability Lead – ESG & Climate of the MCB, Dipeeka Ramgolam said: “The energy transition remains a strategic priority for the MCB, both locally and on the African continent. It is essential to understand the challenges and realities related to the transition, which differ from one country to another, in a context where renewable energies represent a high potential.”
While the Social and Human Rights Lead at UNEP FI, Joana Pedro has added, “From the human rights standpoint, the just transition poses a question of procedure as much as of result: Were the communities and workers concerned consulted before a transition plan was adopted, and do they have a way to make their concerns heard once its implementation has begun? These questions are gradually becoming a criterion in their own right in the way financial institutions evaluate the credibility of a transition plan, in the same way as its financial or technical assumptions. It is this reading grid that we shared today with the directors and executives present.”
