Organised by the Centre for Energy, Finance and Development (CEFD) and the Finance for Development Lab, the webinar brought together policymakers from Mexico, Senegal and Brazil alongside international experts to debate the present and future of sustainable finance taxonomies
The Centre for Energy, Finance and Development (CEFD) and the Finance for Development Lab (FDL) hosted a strategic discussion on the role of sustainable finance taxonomies against a backdrop of global economic fragmentation. The online event, held on 18 March 2026, gathered policymakers from Brazil, Mexico and Senegal to examine the implementation and interoperability challenges posed by these frameworks. It was moderated by CEFD founder Nicolas Lippolis and FDL researcher Sima Kammourieh.
Kate Levick, Associate Director for Finance and Resilience at the UK consultancy E3G, opened the panel. She noted that taxonomies, which first emerged in China in 2015, are now in use in more than 50 countries. Whilst Europe tends to focus on domestic investment, emerging markets use taxonomies to attract external capital and validate sovereign bonds. Levick cautioned that a lack of clarity around objectives can stall adoption, pointing to the British experience as a case in point.
Regina Rosales, Director General for International Forums and Sustainable Finance at Mexico’s Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, outlined the country’s robust taxonomy, which incorporates mitigation and adaptation criteria alongside a pioneering gender equality index. A pilot programme revealed that only 3% of banking operations were aligned with the taxonomy, highlighting a significant data gap among small and medium-sized enterprises.
Representing an economy at an early stage of financial development, Laity Ndiaye, Technical Adviser at the Directorate General of the Financial Sector within Senegal’s Ministry of Finance and Budget, described the global landscape as a “mosaic”. Senegal’s taxonomy prioritises six strategic sectors and seeks interoperability with European Union frameworks and African regional blocs.
Matias Rebello Cardomingo, from Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, presented the country’s “super taxonomy”, designed to reorient the national development model. The Brazilian framework stands out for the inclusion of a racial equity index and is structured around five axes, ranging from the alignment of economic incentives to the capacity-building of the productive sector.
Implementation Challenges
During the question-and-answer session, participants discussed global interoperability, citing initiatives such as the Multilateral Common Ground Taxonomy and Brazil’s role at COP in Belém.
On the question of geoeconomic fragmentation, the consensus was that the multiplicity of models reflects each country’s domestic needs — that is, addressing climate risks — rather than signalling a market divide. Brazil and Mexico also shared experiences on green budgeting, with both agreeing that integrating taxonomies into public finances does not follow a single blueprint. The full webinar is available on CEFD’s YouTube channel (Paths of the Transition), with further analysis in the newsletter Transition Geoeconomics.
