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The report examines the 'camp economy' in Rwanda, highlighting how refugees use mobile money and informal savings groups to manage funds due to barriers in formal banking. It identifies expired identity documents and unclear 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) regulations as primary obstacles to financial inclusion. While refugees demonstrate strong business acumen, most NGO-supported livelihoods only provide subsistence-level income, and there is a significant gap in access to credit for business expansion. The document argues that including host communities in financial initiatives and streamlining regulatory requirements for refugee IDs would create a more viable market for financial service providers.

In the first half of 2018, China's green bond issuance grew by 14% year-on-year to 130.2 billion RMB (13 billion USD), with 9.3 billion USD aligning with international green bond definitions. Financial institutions remained the largest issuers, while renewable energy was the primary use of proceeds. The report highlights a trend where nearly half of green bonds were excluded from the Climate Bonds Initiative database due to allocating more than 5% of proceeds to general working capital, a practice permitted under Chinese national guidelines but restricted by international standards.

The China Green Bond Market Mid-Year Report 2018 details a 14% year-on-year increase in green bond issuance from Chinese issuers in H1 2018, totaling USD 13.02 billion. While financial and non-financial corporates drove growth, 28% of total issuance failed to align with international green bond definitions, primarily due to allocations to general working capital. Renewable energy remained the largest sector for proceeds, and over 40% of issuance occurred offshore, led by ICBC. The report also highlights new regulatory measures from the PBoC and the launch of a Green Bond Issuance Programme in Hong Kong.

The document examines how green bonds support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically highlighting six goals that receive direct benefits from green investment. It emphasizes that climate action is a crosscutting theme necessary for the success of all SDGs and calls for increased climate risk disclosure across all thematic bond labels to ensure long-term sustainability.

The Indian green bond market reached a cumulative issuance of USD 6.5 billion by July 2018, with 2017 seeing a significant surge to USD 3.8 billion. Renewable energy is the dominant sector for use of proceeds, and the market is driven by both government-backed entities and private sector corporates. A high proportion of deals utilize external reviews, with 47% of total issuance comprising Certified Climate Bonds.

The report identifies USD264bn in outstanding bonds from 1,436 climate-aligned US municipal 'pure-play' issuers, suggesting a significant opportunity to scale the green bond market through refinancing. While issuance grew to USD12bn in 2017, it declined in H1 2018 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts of 2017, which reduced refunding bond volume. The water sector represents the largest potential, accounting for 64% (USD170bn) of the identified climate-aligned universe, followed by transport at 30% (USD78.5bn). The report highlights that waste, energy, and land use sectors are currently underrepresented in the green bond market despite having substantial climate-aligned activity.

The report argues that redirecting kerosene subsidies toward pico PV solar products can provide a cleaner, cost-effective lighting alternative for marginalized Indian households. It identifies a robust market of internationally verified products and diverse B2C business models, particularly those leveraging microfinance institutions (MFIs). While the swap is technically feasible, the report notes challenges such as the use of kerosene for cooking in Odisha and the prevalence of substandard, unverified products in Uttar Pradesh.

The report analyzes the remittance value chain in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), dividing it into the first, middle, and last miles. It identifies a high average remittance cost of 9.4%, driven by supply-side barriers including restrictive licensing for non-bank providers, stringent KYC/AML requirements, and outdated IT infrastructure. The study highlights a persistent consumer preference for cash and a significant shift toward informal remittance channels due to the high costs and documentation burdens of the formal sector. Key recommendations emphasize the need for regulatory harmonization, the adoption of a risk-based approach to KYC, and investment in interoperable national payment systems to reduce costs and increase financial inclusion.

The report examines the intersection of insurance and property markets in sub-Saharan Africa, identifying a gap between the theoretical potential of insurance to mitigate risks and provide financing and the actual low level of insurance penetration. It maps the property value chain—from land assembly to sale—and details the risks (credit, macroeconomic, political, and climate) and constraints (administrative bottlenecks and limited finance) that hinder development. Using Zambia as a case study, the report argues that while insurance can offer products like political risk insurance and performance bonds, its role is currently limited by the underdeveloped nature of the property markets themselves and a lack of aggregated, liquid investment vehicles that suit institutional insurers.

The report presents a series of expert testimonies and external research findings regarding the economic vulnerability of U.S. coastal properties to sea level rise. Experts from insurance, credit rating, and real estate sectors highlight a disconnect between long-term climate risks and short-term investment horizons. Key concerns include the potential for a collapse in property values, the failure of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) to provide accurate risk signals due to subsidies, and the likelihood of credit downgrades for coastal municipalities. The document identifies critical tipping points, such as the loss of 30-year mortgages and the transition to risk-based insurance pricing, which could trigger a disorderly retreat from vulnerable areas.

The report argues that the UK is on track to phase out coal by 2025 without needing new large gas plants. It finds that renewables, particularly offshore wind, and increased electricity imports via interconnectors will replace coal generation. Analysis of the Capacity Market shows that coal is being replaced by batteries, demand-side response, and small peaking gas plants rather than large combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs). The report suggests that new large gas plants are incompatible with climate targets and would be unnecessarily costly due to low required load factors.

The document outlines four key insights from successful NZE home builders in the US: the economic viability of NZE homes through integrated design, the need to shift customer communication toward comfort and income rather than technical science, the potential for prefabricated construction to mitigate labor shortages, and the reduced market risk associated with offering a highly differentiated, high-efficiency product.

The 2017 Chinese green bond market reached 248.6 billion RMB (37.1 billion USD), with 38% of issuances not meeting international green definitions. While commercial banks remain the largest issuers, there is a growing trend of issuances from local government financing platforms and policy banks. The report highlights the introduction of the 'Bond Connect' mechanism and the 'Green Belt and Road' initiative as key drivers for future growth and international capital flow.

The report analyzes 19 green bonds issued in Q3 2017, finding that they generally achieve higher oversubscription and tighter pricing relative to initial price thoughts than vanilla bonds. While a 'greenium' (pricing without a new issue premium) was observed in a minority of cases, half the sample did not exhibit a new issue premium. EUR green bonds showed strong secondary market performance, consistently tightening more than their corresponding indices after 7 and 28 days.

In 2017, global green bond issuance reached USD 155.5 billion, a 78% increase over 2016. The market was led by the US, China, and France, with a notable rise in sovereign issuance and the emergence of new issuers from 37 countries. While renewable energy remains the primary use of proceeds, there was significant growth in allocations for low carbon buildings and transport. The report highlights a push toward harmonized international standards and forecasts a need for the market to reach USD 1 trillion by 2020 to impact climate targets.

The report analyzes the growth of green bond markets in emerging economies, highlighting the critical role of national guidance and alignment with international standards like the Green Bond Principles. Through case studies of countries such as China, Indonesia, and Morocco, it identifies key barriers—including lack of capacity and limited investor demand—and proposes a 'Green Bond Market Development Toolkit' featuring a self-assessment matrix and a roadmap of milestones to accelerate sustainable capital flows.

The global green bond market reached a cumulative issuance of USD 521bn by 2018, with USD 167.6bn issued in 2018 alone. The USA, China, and France emerged as the leading national markets. The report highlights a significant increase in issuance from financial institutions, particularly commercial banks, and a growing trend toward shorter-dated bonds. While Europe remains the largest overall market, the Asia-Pacific region saw the highest year-on-year growth at 35%. The market is also diversifying into other labelled instruments, including sustainability, social, and blue bonds, and expanding into emerging markets through the adoption of regional standards like the ASEAN Green Bond Standards.

The report identifies a growing "restoration economy" where businesses generate financial returns by improving the ecological function of degraded landscapes. It categorizes these opportunities into four main investment themes: technology, consumer products, project management, and commercial forestry. Through case studies of 14 companies across eight countries, the authors illustrate how various models—from drone-based reforestation and climate-smart credit for smallholders to sustainable timber and bamboo plantations—can scale. The document highlights that while significant market opportunities exist due to government pledges and rising resource demand, investors face hurdles such as high transaction costs, low liquidity, and insecure land tenure in developing regions.

The document argues that eco-blend cements, which use industrial by-products like fly ash and slag to replace clinker, offer the most feasible near-term path to reducing the carbon footprint of South Africa's cement industry. It highlights that while these materials are abundant locally, regulatory caps on clinker substitution (currently 35%) and outdated structural standards act as primary barriers to wider adoption.

The report examines the deployment of small-scale renewable energy (solar PV, wind, biogas, hydro) in East Africa, highlighting Kenya as the regional leader in market maturity and local content regulation. While off-grid solutions like solar home systems and mini-grids are expanding, the report identifies significant barriers to localisation, including a lack of local manufacturing, inadequate access to seed capital for SMEs, and fragmented institutional coordination. It recommends a regional approach to policy alignment, the development of e-learning platforms for vocational training, and the use of impact investment to build sustainable local value chains.