These questions were central to discussions at the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) Annual Plenary, held in Pretoria, South Africa, from 9 to 10 March 2026. The NGFS, well described as a “coalition of the willing”, brings together 149 central banks and supervisors as well as 24 observers from 92 countries committed to understanding how climate change and nature degradation intersect with price stability and financial stability mandates. Against a more complex global backdrop marked by geopolitical tensions, shifting policy priorities and more polarised public debate, the Plenary held the importance of maintaining a technically grounded and evidence-based approach.

Several salient points emerged from the discussions. Firstly, climate risks persist. Their physical effects continue to intensify and their effects are becoming more frequent, with implications for infrastructure, food prices, fiscal positions and financial system resilience. Secondly, emerging markets and developing economies are often among the most exposed to physical climate risks and nature degradation, which makes the need for practical and proportionate responses even more urgent. Thirdly, adaptation featured strongly. The discussions highlighted the need for context-specific tools, including taxonomies and risk-sharing mechanisms that reflect the structure of each economy and support investment in resilience. Nature-related risks, particularly water scarcity, were also identified as increasingly material, especially for economies where agriculture, mining and energy remain central.

One theme, however, stood out across all sessions and that is the centrality of data. Progress in understanding and responding to climate- and nature-related financial risks depends on the availability of reliable, granular, comparable, and decision-useful data. Yet many jurisdictions continue to face important gaps, including limited geospatial data, weak links between environmental and financial datasets, and difficulties in standardising measurement approaches. Without stronger data foundations, it becomes harder to assess exposures, undertake scenario analysis and design effective supervisory responses. The discussions, therefore, placed strong emphasis on identifying data gaps clearly, assessing their materiality and adopting pragmatic solutions, including proxies, modelling and improved institutional coordination.

This need for a sharper focus and sectoral coordination is precisely why the Namibia Sustainable Finance Alliance (NSFA) was established. The Alliance provides a collaborative platform through which regulators, financial institutions and other stakeholders can work together to advance sustainable finance in Namibia. Its purpose is not only to deepen awareness, but also to help build the institutional architecture, shared understanding and data foundations required to support better analysis and better decision-making. For a country such as Namibia where climate variability, water scarcity and natural resource dependence already shape economic conditions, this work is especially important.

It is in this context that, on Friday, 27 March 2026, the NSFA will convene a Curtain Raiser for its Dialogue Series. The event will open a broader set of conversations on the very issues raised at the NGFS platform: climate and nature-related financial risks, the role of data, the need for context-specific approaches, and the importance of cooperation across institutions. In doing so, it will help translate global discussions into the Namibian context.