Developing countries need $1 trillion annually in climate finance.

"The world needs a breakthrough and a new roadmap on climate finance that can mobilise the $1 trillion in external finance that will be needed by 2030 for emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) other than China"

Annual investments in emerging market and developing countries other than China, to cut emissions, to boost resilience and deal with the loss and damage caused by climate change impacts, and to restore nature and land, should exceed $2 trillion by 2030, according to a new report.

- Biodiversity Finance Solutions for Africa -

With the COP15 to the UN Convention on Biodiversity coming up, Biodiversity finance solutions have also gained more traction.
The United Nations Development Programme’s Biodiversity Finance Initiative (UNDP-BIOFIN) has demonstrated how developing countries can be trendsetters in delivering sustainable finance solutions for people and planet.

The initiative is working with governments, civil society organizations, vulnerable communities and the private sector to catalyze nature-positive investments. Through an evidence-based approach, it guides countries to develop Biodiversity Finance Plans.
Finance solutions are tailored to a country's own context, making the solutions more impactful. Over 150 biodiversity finance solutions were identified by the initiative.

The authors Marco Arlaud and Simon Nazer have compiled an informative blog for the Green Policy Platform with an introduction to the topic and some interesting examples of biodiversity finance in Africa.

Follow the link below for the full article!

COP27 kicked off on 6 November, with climate finance mobilisation high on its agenda.

"As it is a saying that "what gets measured gets done," more clarity is needed on the definition of climate finance for developing countries to be able to accurately assess the extent of finance flows for climate action."

What are your expectations in terms of climate finance at COP27?

An exploration of what it could cost for a household to get to zero carbon: if this is of interest to anyone here, my company Zerofy has done some back-of-the-napkin calculations of what it could cost a European household to reach zero carbon. We've included two different scenarios, involving heat pump and EV use, solar energy production, both rooftop and co-op, and investing in wind.

We are interested in any feedback and thoughts on our approach and calculation!

"In battling climate change, waiting is not an option"

The authors propose a new Finance Facility against Climate Change (F2C2) formed by G20 countries, building on the successful example of the International Finance Facility for Immunisation (IFFIm) that raised funds through bond issuance to finance immunisation programmes in poor countries.

This could allow the necessary frontloading of climate spending in poor countries, while minimising the short-term impact on donor countries’ budgets.

Can this support the developing world frontload emission reductions despite tight budgets and looming debt crises?

What are the drivers influencing sustainable finance development in your country?
What policies and regulatory measures are in place for promoting sustainable finance?

To realize SDGs that fits the national context, it is essential to understand the status of a national financial system and to assess what measures might lead to progress.

Strategic steps for policymakers to understand their national sustainable finance status are outlined in the Sustainable Finance Diagnostic Toolkit.

Have a look at the introductory video of the 10 steps in the toolkit and access it yourselves!

Central banks rarely feature in fiction, but Kim Stanley Robinson put them at the heart of his recent novel, The Ministry for the Future.

What could be a rationale for putting central banks at the heart of a near-future novel about climate change?

He says, "stabilising money requires stabilising the biosphere." Central banks as the creators and guarantors of money itself and banks can work towards climate and environment within their current mandate.

As we have already recognized that the financial system can play a major role in contributing to the low-carbon transition and green recovery from COVID-19.

How to align the national financial system with these transitions and international best practices?

The Green Finance Platform developed the Sustainable Finance Diagnostic Toolkit to support countries assess the current state of financial system and develop a sustainable finance roadmap - set of key measures and actions.

The first step is to understand the importance of your financial system in national sustainable development outcome and how sustainable finance is relevant in the national context.
Countries will have different starting points. For example, one of the drivers of sustainable finance in India is rooted by the necessity to finance one of the most ambitious global renewable energy programmes.

Check out toolkit and find about necessary steps to unlock sustainable finance.

Officially launched today, the Sustainable Finance Diagnostic Toolkit is now available!

The Green Finance Platform and the International Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability (FC4S) launch the Sustainable Finance Diagnostic Toolkit to facilitate the development of a national sustainable finance roadmap.

The toolkit is a 10-step questionnaire that provides practical guidance for policymakers to improve their understanding of actions to enhance sustainable finance mobilization in a country.

Through the toolkit, countries will be able to surface necessary information and measures to unlock sustainable finance, which will feed into the development of national, or potentially regional, sustainable finance roadmaps.

This toolkit is developed and managed by the Green Finance Platform as part of the Global Environment Facility-funded #AligningFinancePolicies project.