About this Discussion

The financial system can play a major role in contributing to a transition towards a low-carbon, resilient and inclusive economy. However, for this to happen, three key deficiencies must be addressed:  the misallocation of available capital for long-term development; externalities and systemic risk, including climate change; and environmental stress, notably natural disasters. Critical to aligning financial and capital markets will be measures within the financial system to green private finance through adjustments to key policies, regulations, standards and norms, and through market innovations.

In 2018, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) launched the GEF Aligning Finance Policies project to build international consensus to align financial systems with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and develop national regulatory actions. The project focuses on the development of national Sustainable Finance Roadmaps in six countries – China, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Mongolia and Nigeria – and building international consensus on best practices – from policies and regulations to standards and norms – to green the financial system.

This Green Forum discussion is for professionals to share their knowledge and experience on sustainable finance, particularly best practices to help align the financial system with sustainable development and climate change mitigation needs, as well as ways to incorporate sustainability factors into the rules that govern banking, insurance, institutional investment and capital markets.

 

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GEF Brand

Sustainable Finance

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Dear all,

CDSB launched a consultation on the Biodiversity Guidance.

The objective of the Biodiversity Guidance is to support organisations in preparing high-quality disclosures that enable users of mainstream reports to assess material biodiversity-related financial information.

We welcome your feedback!

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https://www.cdsb.net/biodiversity

On 16 Sept 2021 16:00 - 17:00 CET, SEforALL and CPI will launch a new knowledge brief on Coal Power Finance in High-Impact Countries.

Although the overall trend is to diminish the global investment in coal fired power plants, high-impact countries in South Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa still receive funding for additional coal capacity.

This new research identifies which high-impact countries are receiving finance for coal fired power, the sources of this investment, its key drivers and the risks attached. The research also offers a series of recommendations to accelerate coal phase-out in favor of more cost-effective renewable energy solutions that support both increased energy access and the transition.

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https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/event/the-persistent-problem-of-coal-power-finance/

Created a Post in Sustainable Finance

Voluntary carbon markets are once again on the rise. We need to support the process of building integrity across the entire voluntary carbon market supply and use chain. Read more to learn why this could be just as satisfying as ice cream.

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https://www.f4b-initiative.net/post/reshape-global-finance-to-support-inevitable-transition-to-susta...
Green Growth Knowledge Partnership(GGKP), African Development Bank(AfDB), World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF), German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development(BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit(GIZ) GmbH, MAVA Foundation, International Institute for Sustainable Development(IISD), the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), Economics for Nature(E4N)

Join the African Development Bank and partners for the launch of the Program on Natural Capital for African Development Finance (NC4-ADF). Dr. Rabah Arezki, Chief Economist and Vice President of the African Development Bank Group in charge of Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, will… Read More

Insurer Prudential and lenders Asian Development Bank (ADB), Citi, and HSBC plan to speed up the closing of coal-fired power plants in Asia by buying and closing them within 15 years - much shorter than a plant’s average lifetime of 46 years. Led by the ADB, they plan to present a model at the COP26 to buy out coal plants for early closures, as an attempt to speed up the transition to zero emissions. It will also help turn costs into savings for customers and utilities.

To make it happen, governments are looking to provide public funding to seed new funds or investment vehicles. How to ensure the coal plant buy outs will benefit the public and not the big banks?

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https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/five-rules-to-make-sure-coal-plant-buyouts-benefit-the-public-n...

*Upcoming Green Recovery Workshop*

The Green Fiscal Policy Network (GFPN) is a joint partnership between UNEP, GIZ, and the IMF launched in 2011 with the aim of facilitating knowledge sharing and dialogue on green fiscal policies.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday, GFPN will host a two-day workshop titled "ROLE OF FISCAL POLICIES IN A GREEN COVID-19 RECOVERY: Experience, Best Practice and Next Steps in the Asia-Pacific Region." Six live sessions will explore the potential role of fiscal policies to ensure a Green Recovery.

Attendees will hear from policy experts around the world, including representatives from the Bank of Asia, S&P Global, UNFCCC, UNESCAP, UNEP, IMF, GIZ, UNEPFI, OECD, and the governments of Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, Fiji, and the Philippines.

Learn More + Register Below!

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https://greenfiscalpolicy.org/event/role-of-fiscal-policies-in-a-green-covid-19-recovery-experience-...
Rocky Mountain Institute(RMI)

You’ve heard the refrain: Finance will make or break the COP. Read More

One of the persisting critiques of the IFC is that it focuses too much on closing deals and too little on development impact, which is also the case of other development finance institutions. As a result, IFC's current strategies include a push for upstream activities, aiming to establish the conditions in a country that lead to private investments, which entails technical assistance.

Femi Akinrebiyo, a global manager for upstream work at IFC, underlines the need to have projects to invest in, which otherwise impedes IFC to accomplish its traditional role to use private sector financing for development.

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https://www.devex.com/news/devex-invested-ifc-bolsters-upstream-work-to-boost-investment-pipeline-10...

New listings of fossil fuel companies would be immediately banned on the London Stock Exchange as part of a proposal by the Liberal Democrats that the party says could help the UK become a leader in tackling the climate emergency.

Under the plan outlined to the Guardian by the Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, another immediate policy would be to stop new bonds being issued in London to finance oil, coal or gas exploration.

Fossil fuel firms already listed in the UK would then have two years to produce a coherent plan about how they would reach net zero emissions by 2045, or risk being struck off the LSE.

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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/aug/26/lib-dems-propose-ban-on-new-listings-of-fossil-fuel...

The U.S. has been lagging on climate risk regulation: here’s how it will lead

'The conventional wisdom on managing climate risk has undergone a seismic shift from a purely market-led discussion to a clear expectation that regulators must step in. This global shift has left U.S. regulators scrambling to catch up to international peers, and they began signaling an interest in climate financial oversight even before the transition to the Biden administration'

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https://www.climateworks.org/blog/the-u-s-has-been-lagging-on-climate-risk-regulation-heres-how-it-w...