Piloting and Finalizing the Maldives Green Finance Taxonomy

Climate & Company is supporting the review, revision, and piloting of the Maldives Green Finance Taxonomy — the classification system that will define what counts as a “green” investment in the country. The work goes beyond refining the document on paper: it puts the taxonomy directly into the hands of selected pilot banks and financial institutions, testing how it performs in real lending decisions before it is finalized for national rollout.

The Maldives’ economy and resilience are inseparable from its ocean — from coral reefs and fisheries to tourism and coastal protection. A taxonomy that fails to properly capture the blue economy and biodiversity protection would miss the sectors that matter most for the country’s future. We help ensure the taxonomy:

• Reflects national climate mitigation and adaptation priorities, keeping the taxonomy grounded in what the Maldives has actually committed to;
• Embeds biodiversity protection and conservation, recognizing reefs, marine ecosystems, and coastal habitats as core to a credible green classification;
• Works for the blue economy and small-scale projects, not just large infrastructure — vital in an archipelago economy built on dispersed, often small-scale economic activity;
• Builds real-world usability through piloting, so the final taxonomy reflects how banks actually lend, not just how a taxonomy reads on paper.

The project follows a practical, iterative sequence:

• Reviewing and revising the draft taxonomy through desk review and stakeholder consultation, with particular attention to biodiversity and small-scale project applicability;
• Designing and delivering an in-person workshop for selected pilot banks and financial institutions on the taxonomy’s structure, classification methodology, and screening criteria;
• Running a pilot phase with selected banks, providing hands-on technical support and collecting feedback on the taxonomy’s usability and practicality in real green lending;
• Developing case studies from the pilot, capturing lessons learned and examples of application — especially for smaller projects typical of the Maldivian context;
• Finalizing the taxonomy by integrating pilot results, stakeholder feedback, and case study findings into a final version with user guidelines, ready for formal adoption.