Summary of Consultancy

• Contract type: Short-term consultancy
• Geographical coverage: Asia Regional, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore
• Key relationships/ interactions or Partner organisation/s, if applicable: FFA Executive Team (ET) and country partners
• Consultancy term: February 2021 to October 2021
• Reporting to: Bernadette Victorio, FFA Program Lead
• Key relationships/ interactions: FFA ET, country and regional partners
• Office Station: Remote work

How to Apply

Quotations/proposals should be submitted through Oxfam recruitment website: http://bit.ly/2Yo8PZ0 with the subject line “Fair Finance Asia Regional Study on Coal Financing” by no later than 12/02/2021 at 23:59 hours GMT+7.

Any questions, remarks or requests for clarification can be sent to the FFA Communications & Engagement Manager, Nirnita Talukdar (nirnita.talukdar@oxfam.org) before the deadline of application.

The following should be included in applications:

• At least two relevant reference assignments previously performed by the supplier that are comparable in content, timelines, and budget;
• An approach paper, including a proposed methodology, report structure, and a time planning based on this ToR;
• CV(s) of the proposed consultant(s), proving relevant experience and/or diplomas.
• Total price. Accompanied with a cost breakdown, showing days or hours spent (per consultant involved) and the related fee, as well as out-of-pocket costs (costs other than fees). Any requirements for subscription to relevant databases for the provision of secondary data should be incorporated into the proposal, including justification and associated budget costs.

The Organization

Oxfam is an international confederation of 19 organizations networked together in 97 countries. As part of a global movement for change, we are working together to end world poverty and injustice. We work with thousands of partners in countries around the world, and employ staff in a wide variety of posts. We work directly with communities and we work with the powerful to enable the most marginalized to improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in every decisions that affect them.
The Programme

The Fair Finance Asia (FFA) program is a five-year program funded by the Swedish Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. It is a network of civil society organizations in Asia working to ensure that financial institutions operating in Asia are transparent and accountable to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria in their business activities and investment decisions. FFA aspires to reduce inequality in Asia by creating an enabling policy environment for integration of social and environmental considerations among financial institutions (FIs) in the region and ensuring that FIs advance the interests and needs of local communities towards their well-being.

Currently, FFA is operational at regional level and in 7 countries across Asia, namely - Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. FFA’s regional program management unit is stationed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The FFA program is a part of the Fair Finance International (FFI) which operates in 6 other countries globally, apart from the seven FFA countries. FFI’s assessment reports on the policy and practices of national financial institutions form part of FFA’s influencing and engagement toolkit in promoting sustainable finance and responsible investments.

Terms of Reference
Objectives

The objectives of this study are:

1. Raise the urgency for Asian financial institutions (FIs) to divest from thermal coal by highlighting the environmental and social impacts of continued coal investments;
2. Catalyze commitment and action towards a just and sustainable energy transition in Asia by highlighting investment trends and other key financial sector led initiatives;
3. Provide recommendations on just and equitable transitions away from coal, by:
• Highlighting the role of commercial banks on aspects of a just transition by assessing the finance gap between banks’ investments in thermal coal vs renewables against their corresponding international commitments to the Paris Agreement and/ or other platforms such as IFC’s Green Equity Investments initiative, etc;
• Facilitating understanding on how COVID-19 has impacted thermal coal financing; and
• Highlight the role of other key stakeholders within the Asian financial sector including financial regulators, multilateral development banks, and international financial institutions operating in the region in supporting a just transition.

Scope

The report is envisaged to focus on investments in thermal coal by Asian financial institutions with a specific focus on those ones being assessed by FFA national coalitions, as well as key financial intermediaries of the International Finance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The review will cover all countries that are a part of the Fair Finance Asia network, and will include additional countries that are highly relevant to the cross-border investments in Asia. These include:

• Cambodia
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Philippines
• Thailand
• Vietnam
• China
• Malaysia
• Korea
• Bangladesh
• Pakistan
• Singapore

Key research questions:

• What are the key trends in thermal coal investments in Asia in the past 5 years?
Which Asian financial institutions are involved? What are the key financial linkages beyond Asia – from Europe, North America, etc. – that are important to highlight?
• What are the critical environmental and social impacts of these investments?
• What are the incentives and disincentives for financial institutions to stay invested in thermal coal based on financial data available?
• What is the business case to invest in renewable and sustainable forms of energy based on financial data available? What are the current incentives (e.g., financial gains) for financial institutions to invest in renewable energy?
• How can we use and interpret these financial linkages to assess the effectiveness of net zero strategies and commitments being developed by Asian FIs and countries?
• What conclusions and pragmatic recommendations can this study make in using financing as an important leverage to move Asia towards a just energy transition?
• What are the key aspects to consider in a just energy transition particularly in the context of Asia and the countries mentioned in the scope of this study?
• What specific roles can Asian financial sector actors (regulators, FIs, MDBs, etc) play in moving the region towards a just transition?
• What tracking mechanisms can we develop to measure the effectiveness of net zero commitments and targets being made by FIs and countries in Asia?

List of documents to be used as references (not exhaustive)

1. The policy assessments on the sustainable finance policies of FIs conducted by FFA and FFI coalitions: https://fairfinanceguide.org/
2. Asian Web: Tracking Regional Financial Flows - study by Fair Finance Asia and Profundo: https://bit.ly/38U3nmY
3. Asian Dystopia: Why Banks need to put Sustainable Finance clearly in their sights – study by Fair Finance Asia and SOMO: https://bit.ly/3oZC67Z
4. Making Green Bonds Work – study by Oxfam Hong Kong and CCA: https://bit.ly/3qvDNdQ
5. Coming clean: Can the IFC help end coal finance?: A recent report on IFC and Hana Bank Indonesia by Recourse: https://bit.ly/3qSKqXP
6. Digging Deeper: Can the IFC’s Green Equity Strategy Help End Indonesia’s Dirty Coal Mines?, Report by IDI and partners: https://bit.ly/3ogWWig
7. Broken Promises: The World Bank, International Investors and the Fight for Climate Justice in the Philippines, Report by IDI and partners: https://bit.ly/2YctMpV
8. Time to Come Clean: How the World Bank Group and International Investors Can Stop the World’s Most Dangerous Coal Plant, Report by IDI and partners: https://bit.ly/3pwwB1b
9. “DISASTER FOR US AND THE PLANET”: How the IFC is quietly funding a coal boom, Report by IDI and partners: https://bit.ly/36bUJhV
10. Oxfam International paper on 'Confronting carbon inequality': https://bit.ly/3iuVYxr
11. Oxfam paper 'Powering the transition: World Bank and other IFI energy lending in Asia': https://bit.ly/35WSy1t
12. Fair Finance Guide International Methodology: https://bit.ly/3irpWT8
13. Relevant national laws and guidelines passed by government regulators focused on sustainable finance and coal investments, especially in the FFA countries (e.g. Cambodia’s Sustainable Finance Principles, Thailand’s Sustainable Banking Guidelines – Responsible Lending, Indonesia’s Guidelines on Responsible Financing, etc.)
14. Publicly available net zero strategies and commitments of Asian FIs, companies, and countries
15. FFA and FFI case studies focused on coal financing
• Case study by Fair Finance Japan on the problems on environment, human rights, and corruption, and banks’ non-compliance with international norms in the Cirebon coal-fired power project of Indonesia: https://bit.ly/3iuzY5J
• Case study ‘Banking on India’s coal conundrum’ that highlights risks involved in financing conventional power projects: https://bit.ly/39RHK5O
• Case study by the Fair Finance Guide Netherlands, 'Still Undermining our Future?', focusing on loans to, and investments in, energy companies and projects by the seven most important banks and the seven most important insurance companies operating on the Dutch consumer market: https://bit.ly/3oVEgpj
• Excerpt from the Case study of Fair Finance Japan on the “Visualisation” of the Impact of Financial Institutions on Climate Change: https://bit.ly/3bPEA5k

Products

• A report in the English language, including an executive summary with a maximum of 50 pages for the core part (excluding annexes, title page, and table of contents);
• A standalone Executive Summary section highlighting key findings, recommendations, and relevant data figures and tables from the report;
• A presentation deck of key interim findings and draft to be shared with FFA partners for comments and inputs;
• A presentation deck of the final report and results to be shared with FFA partners and broader audiences.
• Full access to all data sets collected and used for the purpose of this study.