Entries for 'Sustainable Finance'

Heightened uncertainty around U.S. economic policies has led to one of the worst starts on record for U.S. stocks under a new president—despite the healthy balance sheets of U.S. companies and households

Rising global policy uncertainty, changing U.S. political dynamics, and regulatory fragmentation are testing the resilience of sustainable finance, but public interest remains strong and financial sector support for climate goals remains high.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) has published a Special Edition of the Sustainable Finance Monitor

While well intentioned, certain prudential regulations can inadvertently curtail the degree to which multilateral development banks (MDBs) and development finance institutions (DFIs) can mobilize private capital for vulnerable low-income countries.

The ESG debt universe expanded by over 20% in 2024 to $7.3 trillion, driven by strong issuance from supranationals and U.S. firms.

Despite MDB pledges to provide $120 billion annually for climate action by 2030, private capital mobilization multipliers remain low at 0.5x, meaning that for every dollar of MDB investment, just 50 cents in private capital is generated.

Global fossil fuel carbon emissions are projected to rise to a record high of 37.4 GtCO2 in 2024, up by 0.8% from 2023—China and the U.S. are top emitters. Amid concerns that the window to achieve Paris Agreement targets is fast closing, climate finance flows surpassed $1.5 trillion in 2023, led by significant increases in renewable energy and low-carbon technology.

Global ESG debt issuance topped $1.2 trillion in the first ten months of 2024, and is on track to hit $1.5 trillion by year-end, marking an increase of more than 7% from 2023 figures. The U.S., China, and Germany were the top issuers, with improved funding conditions boosting U.S. activity.

COP29 marked a major milestone with the decision to operationalize the Article 6.4 mechanism, establishing a UN-supervised global voluntary carbon market—expected to boost demand and issuance of carbon credits.

Transition plans are crucial to businesses’ strategies, guiding their actions and accountability in supporting the shift to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy.

Global agriculture urgently needs transition: Delaying transition to sustainable agricultural practices would have high costs, with current practices ...

After a sharp decline in Q1 2024, global ESG fund flows registered modest improvement in Q2, though U.S. ESG funds continue to experience outflows. As energy become a major national security theme for major economies, strong growth in clean energy investment is anticipated in 2024 and beyond, driven by national industrial policies such as the U.S. Inflation Act (IRA), the EU Green Deal and similar incentive schemes around the world.