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The ASEAN+3 sustainable debt market reached USD 449 billion by Q3 2021, driven largely by the People's Republic of China, Japan, and Hong Kong, China. While green bonds remain dominant, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the issuance of social and sustainability-labeled instruments. Local currency (LCY) issuance represents 64% of the region's total sustainable debt, though this is unevenly distributed; Thailand has the highest LCY share at 98.5%, while Viet Nam and Indonesia rely heavily on foreign currencies. The report identifies barriers such as lack of market awareness, high transaction costs for small deals, and a shortage of bankable green projects. It recommends increasing sovereign GSS bond issuance, expanding the investor base through ETFs and indices, and establishing centralized sustainable finance platforms to improve project visibility.

The report critiques the 'net zero' framework and the expansion of carbon offset markets, asserting that they create a false equivalence between carbon removals and avoided emissions. It argues that these mechanisms serve as a 'house of cards' designed to protect stranded fossil fuel assets by providing a veneer of climate action while allowing ongoing emissions. The document specifically highlights the efforts of the Task Force on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM) and the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART-TREES) to standardize and commodify different types of carbon credits to increase market volume. It concludes that the only viable path to limiting warming to 1.5°C is a rapid, just transition to renewable energy and the immediate phase-out of fossil fuels, rather than reliance on speculative carbon removal technologies or flawed offsetting schemes.

China's green bond market experienced record growth in 2021, driven by the nation's '30·60' climate targets and the 14th Five-Year Plan. Annual issuance aligned with Climate Bonds definitions reached USD 68.2 billion, making China the second largest green bond market globally. The market saw a significant shift as non-financial corporates became the primary source of supply, overtaking financial corporates. Over 60% of the use-of-proceeds was directed toward renewable energy. The report also highlights the emergence of carbon neutrality bonds and transition finance as key tools for decarbonizing high-emitting sectors.

The 2021 Chinese green bond market experienced significant growth, with total labeled issuances reaching $109.5 billion. Non-financial enterprises became the dominant issuer type for the first time, and over 60% of funds were directed toward renewable energy. While the market is expanding rapidly, the report highlights a continued reliance on state-owned enterprises and a need for improved transparency and transition finance frameworks to meet long-term climate targets.

The Indian GSS debt market experienced significant growth in 2021, reaching a cumulative volume of USD 19.5 billion, with green bonds dominating the landscape. While the market is primarily driven by non-financial corporates and focused on utility-scale renewable energy, there is emerging activity in sustainability-linked bonds and potential for expansion into electric vehicles, waste management, and climate-smart agriculture. The Indian government is supporting this growth through the Ministry of Finance's Sustainable Finance Task Force and the planned issuance of a domestic sovereign green bond in 2022.

The report analyzes the 2021 Chinese green bond market, which saw a sharp rebound with USD 109.4bn in total issuance. It highlights the role of top-down policy guidance, such as the Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue (2021 Edition), in standardizing the market and aligning it with international principles. The analysis finds a positive correlation between local policy efficacy scores and the volume of green bond issuance, particularly in economically developed regions like the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas. However, stakeholders identify challenges including inadequate information disclosure and a lack of issuer experience in identifying green assets. The report recommends strengthening disclosure standards, developing transition finance frameworks, and expanding innovative products like sustainability-linked bonds to support high-emitting sectors.

The 2021 China Green Bond Investor Survey reveals a strong demand for high-quality green bonds, particularly in renewable energy and low-carbon transport. While investors value green credentials and credit fundamentals, they highlight significant gaps in transparency and post-issuance disclosure. International investors face barriers related to market access and regulatory quotas. The report emphasizes the need for standardized green definitions aligned with international benchmarks and the adoption of TCFD recommendations to enhance market integrity and attract global capital.

The report examines China's green finance landscape in 2021, highlighting the role of top-down policies in driving the green bond market. It identifies a positive correlation between regional policy stimulus and bond issuance volumes, while noting that economic disparities limit policy effectiveness in less developed provinces. The document also analyzes the alignment of Chinese green bonds with international standards and provides recommendations for improving information disclosure and developing transition finance.

The report analyzes the intersection of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) and sustainable finance in eight agricultural commodity sectors. It argues that while VSSs effectively address environmental and social risks—such as deforestation and labor rights—they often lack the rigorous economic and business management criteria that financial service providers (FSPs) require for due diligence. By benchmarking 12 VSSs against sustainable finance frameworks, the document identifies gaps in areas like corruption prevention, economic viability, and climate adaptation. It recommends that VSSs align their criteria with FSP needs, that FSPs develop preferential loan programs for certified farmers, and that governments support land tenure and infrastructure to improve investment readiness.

The document addresses the rise in EU ETS carbon prices, which reached €98.49 on 8 February 2022. It refutes claims from energy-intensive industries and countries like Poland and Spain that speculative trading is causing price spikes, noting that speculative activity accounts for only about 4% of ETS activity. The author opposes a proposal by MEP Peter Liese to release 100 million additional allowances if prices remain high for six months, arguing this would undermine emission reduction goals. Instead, the document advocates for reducing the oversupply of credits, ending free allowances, and aiming for a 70% reduction in ETS emissions by 2030 to provide a stable price signal for industrial decarbonisation.

In January 2022, private equity firms focused heavily on consolidating eye care, dental services, and medical staffing in the US. The report highlights the use of platform companies for add-on acquisitions and notes concerns regarding cost-cutting in dental services and exorbitant pricing in nursing staffing.

The report examines 21 proposed US LNG export terminals, finding that none reached a final investment decision (FID) in 2021 due to a lack of offtake contracts and project financing. It highlights that only three projects secured direct project finance totaling US$1.6 billion against an estimated total cost of US$244 billion. The document argues that these projects face stiff competition from lower-cost producers like Qatar, regulatory hurdles regarding environmental justice, and a global shift toward renewables. Furthermore, it notes that the combined lifecycle emissions of 19 proposed terminals would be 1 gigatonne of CO2 equivalent per year, contradicting the IEA's Net Zero by 2050 Scenario.

The 2021 gas crisis caused a paradigm shift in the EU's electricity transition, with skyrocketing prices making fossil gas more expensive than coal and enhancing the competitiveness of renewables. For the first time in Europe, combined wind and solar generation (547 TWh) exceeded gas (524 TWh). While solar growth is surging in countries like Spain and the Netherlands, it remains stagnant in others such as Italy, Czechia, and Romania. Additionally, the structural decline of nuclear power in the EU has slowed decarbonisation, as a significant portion of renewable growth has replaced lost nuclear output rather than fossil fuels.

The report examines how financial aggregation—bundling small-scale energy assets into portfolios—can address the financing gap for distributed renewable energy (DRE) in developing countries. It identifies general SME financing barriers and specific aggregation hurdles, such as lack of track records and currency risk. The document proposes enablers including digital data solutions, standardisation of KPIs, and the use of green, social, and sustainability (GSS) bonds to attract institutional investors. While the market is nascent, the report highlights early successes in Rwanda, Côte d'Ivoire, and Brazil as blueprints for scaling clean energy access.

The Green Economy Climate Finance Database 2022, developed by GreenCape with support from the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism, tracks over 150 financing opportunities across approximately 125 stakeholders, with a total available value of ZAR 25 billion. The report identifies a market failure characterized by a mismatch between available climate finance and a bankable pipeline of projects, noting a particular scarcity of high-risk early-stage finance and venture capital in South Africa. While clean energy is the primary focus of available funding, the database covers eight financial instruments, including debt, equity, and grants, primarily targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and projects in the growth phase.

The document defines 'critical minerals' as raw materials essential for renewable energy and clean technology, noting that criticality is context-specific and varies by country. It identifies two primary perspectives on criticality: security and control of supply (emphasized by the US, EU, and Japan) and value capture (emphasized by China, Australia, and Canada). The guide highlights the role of rare earth elements (REEs) in permanent magnets and lists key demand drivers such as e-mobility and decarbonization. It also discusses supply sources, including the significant role of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) for cobalt and tantalum, and emerging sources like deep-seabed mining. Finally, it outlines the macroeconomic and geopolitical risks associated with mineral dependency, such as 'Dutch disease' and supply chain concentration.

The report tracks the sustainability commitments of major South African seafood retailers and suppliers for 2020-21, noting a general decline in progress due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It highlights the vulnerability of coastal populations and fisheries to ocean warming and acidification, while advocating for nature-based 'blue carbon' solutions. Consumer data from 2021-22 indicates a rising demand for sustainable seafood, with hake, calamari, and prawns remaining the most consumed items in South African restaurants.

The report identifies significant financial, regulatory, and awareness barriers that hinder energy efficiency projects in Indonesia, noting that traditional shared and guaranteed savings models are often unsuccessful. It proposes three alternative models—service or device, leasing and purchase, and quality energy service—to reduce perceived risks for investors and clients, while emphasizing the need for stronger government regulation and financial incentives to meet national energy saving targets.

The report identifies five key Water-Smart Agriculture (WSA) innovation clusters in South Africa: irrigation systems, smart farming, undercover farming, sustainable practices, and drought-tolerant crops. While commercial farms have adopted many of these technologies due to economies of scale, adoption remains low among smallholder and emerging farmers. The analysis estimates significant market sizes for high-tech greenhouses (R11.78 billion) and no-till machinery (R4.48 billion), while identifying remote sensing services as a high-growth area. Major barriers include high upfront costs, limited technical skills, and an unfriendly regulatory environment. The report recommends developing innovative financing models, increasing farmer awareness, and strengthening government support through tax rebates and policy integration.

The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) addresses the lack of consistency and ambition in transition finance by introducing a certification framework for corporate transitions. The proposal argues that for a company's transition to be credible, it must meet five criteria: alignment with the Paris Agreement, a robust plan, tangible action, internal oversight, and external reporting. The document suggests a three-tier labeling system (Green, Green Transition, and Transition Transition) and outlines a two-step assessment method for complex companies to ensure their overall performance aligns with global net-zero goals by 2050.