Advancing Sustainable Finance Taxonomies and Interoperability Taxonomy Roadmap Initiative Progress Report

The report identifies a growing global landscape of over 60 sustainable finance taxonomies, noting high-level interoperability in classification structures and objectives but significant challenges at the granular criteria level. While development is accelerating, implementation remains in early stages, particularly in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). The Taxonomy Roadmap Initiative, launched at COP29, aims to address these gaps through three pillars: identifying core economic activities, developing common technical approaches, and formulating transition finance guidelines. To support these goals, the initiative is launching a set of tools at COP30, including a Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Mapper and Principles for Taxonomy Interoperability.

• There is a rapid global increase in the development of sustainable finance taxonomies, with over 60 currently in use or under development across various geographies and sectors.
• High-level interoperability is evident as many taxonomies share similar classification structures, objectives, and sector coverage, with 64% of 53 analyzed taxonomies using a sector structure based on the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC).
• Interoperability at the granular criteria level remains difficult; a study of the Multi-jurisdictional Common Ground Taxonomy found that approximately 33% of compared activities were too technically difficult to compare directly.
• Climate change mitigation is the most universal objective, with 100% of jurisdictions with published taxonomies including it in their scope.
• Taxonomy implementation is still in early stages, especially in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), where mandatory applications are rare and users require more support to realize the value of these tools.
• The sustainable debt market serves as a primary indicator of taxonomy use, with cumulative issuance aligned with the Climate Bonds Taxonomy exceeding US$6 trillion as of 30 July 2025.
• There is a high degree of overlap in how different taxonomies cover hard-to-abate 'transitional' activities, particularly within the industry and buildings and construction sectors.
• The Taxonomy Roadmap Initiative is launching four specific outputs at COP30: this progress report, the Principles for Taxonomy Interoperability, a digital Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Mapper, and a dedicated initiative website.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2025). Advancing Sustainable Finance Taxonomies and Interoperability Taxonomy Roadmap Initiative Progress Report. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/COP30_Taxonomy-Roadmap-Initiative_Progress-Report_Nov-2025-vlLypICW-1.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Advancing Sustainable Finance Taxonomies and Interoperability Taxonomy Roadmap Initiative Progress Report. 2025. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/COP30_Taxonomy-Roadmap-Initiative_Progress-Report_Nov-2025-vlLypICW-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Advancing Sustainable Finance Taxonomies and Interoperability Taxonomy Roadmap Initiative Progress Report |date=November 2025 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/COP30_Taxonomy-Roadmap-Initiative_Progress-Report_Nov-2025-vlLypICW-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2025advancing, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Advancing Sustainable Finance Taxonomies and Interoperability Taxonomy Roadmap Initiative Progress Report}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/COP30_Taxonomy-Roadmap-Initiative_Progress-Report_Nov-2025-vlLypICW-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }