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.

 

Supported by

GEF Brand

Sustainable Finance

A post is already pinned to this stream. Would you like to replace it?
A post is already pinned to this stream. Would you like to replace it?

Factoring climate change into the debt restructuring process could help motivate sovereign lenders and even private creditors to write off a certain percentage of the debt of heavily-indebted poorer countries, in exchange for progress toward their sustainable development and climate goals

Read More

https://www.reuters.com/article/world-bank-debt-climate/world-bank-imf-to-consider-climate-change-in...

Climate Fintech Is Coming

What do you get when you combine the buzziest tech sector with the most high-profile public policy issue? Financial technology combating climate change.

Read More

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nikmilanovic/2021/02/18/climate-fintech-is-coming/?sh=710f5d872b55
Cities Climate Finance Leadership Alliance

The Alliance will soon launch a new product that will highlight how National Development Banks (NDBs) can support subnational governments with the development of #climatesmart infrastructure. Based on first-hand interviews with NDBs and cities, the result is a conceptual model of 12… Read More

Climate Policy Initiative(CPI), Vivid Economics, Seoul National University(SNU)

Globally, the COVID-19 crisis has had a lasting impact and has forced governments to introduce stimulus packages to help their economies recover. While addressing immediate social and healthcare needs are critical, a concerted effort is needed to incorporate climate goals into country-level COVID-… Read More

Climate Disclosure Standards Board(CDSB)

How can companies, preparers, accountants and finance functions begin to account for climate under existing accounting standards? Following the publication of  guidance for integrating climate matters into financial reporting by CDSB in December 2020, we welcome companies, preparers… Read More

UNEP FI’s TCFD Banking programme has launched 3 new papers -
* Decarbonisation and Disruption: Understanding the financial risks of a disorderly transition using climate scenarios
* Pathways to Paris: A practical guide to climate transition scenarios for financial professionals
* The Climate Risk Landscape: Mapping Climate-related Financial Risk Assessment Methodologies

Read More

https://www.unepfi.org/climate-change/tcfd/tcfd-for-banks/

The sustainability nonprofit Ceres issued formal comments to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors today, urging the agency to strengthen and modernize the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) by incorporating considerations of climate resilience and racial justice.

Read More

https://www.ceres.org/news-center/press-releases/ceres-calls-federal-reserve-incorporate-climate-cha...

ESG scores: an outdated concept

The concept of ESG scores - aggregating hundreds of indicators from diverse and complex topics - is outdated, particularly when repackaged by the investment management industry as an investment signal. The time for change has come.

Read More

https://www.responsible-investor.com/articles/esg-scores-an-outdated-concept#.YCu6uCr9nyE.linkedin

The Top 6 Barriers to Better ESG Data (and What To Do About Them)... The bottom line: A tipping point is near on ESG data

Read More

https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/better-esg-data/718561