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In 2019, the global green bond market reached a record USD258.9 billion in issuance, a 51% increase over 2018. The market saw significant growth in non-financial corporate issuance and the entry of eight new countries. Europe led in cumulative volume, while the USA, China, and France remained the top individual countries by amount issued. Energy, buildings, and transport dominated the use of proceeds, accounting for 82% of the total. The report also notes a rise in green sukuk and the increasing importance of external reviews and Climate Bonds Standard certification.

The report examines how COVID-19 disrupted the sub-Saharan African insurance value chain, forcing rapid digitalisation and straining balance sheets due to reduced premium income and investment returns. While household life and health policies generally covered the pandemic, business interruption insurance largely did not due to global reinsurance exclusions. The document highlights opportunities for insurers to adopt remote onboarding and for regulators to remove barriers to digital sales and manage potential market consolidation.

In 2019, China's labelled green bond market grew by 33% to USD 55.8 billion, making it the largest global source of such bonds. The market saw a shift in issuer types, with non-financial corporates becoming the largest group and the introduction of the first municipal green bond. While domestic issuance is strong, discrepancies remain between Chinese guidelines and international standards, particularly regarding the use of proceeds for general working capital and the inclusion of 'clean coal' projects. The report recommends harmonizing definitions with international standards, such as those of the EU, and increasing transparency to attract more foreign investment.

In 2019, China led the world in labeled green bond issuance, with 386.2 billion RMB (55.8 billion USD) issued, a 33% increase from 2018. The market saw a significant rise in non-financial corporate issuers and the introduction of the first labeled green municipal special bond. While the market is growing, a gap remains between domestic Chinese green definitions and international standards, particularly regarding the use of proceeds for general corporate purposes and the inclusion of 'clean coal' projects. The report highlights the potential for refinancing as 88% of the domestic green bond balance is set to mature within five years.

The report examines the global cotton market, highlighting a shift toward voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) which grew from 1% of production in 2009 to 14.1% in 2016. It identifies significant sustainability challenges, including high water and pesticide use, price volatility, and labor abuses. The document argues that VSSs like BCI, CmiA, Organic, and Fairtrade are essential for mitigating these risks and improving livelihoods for the 100 million farmers globally. It specifically identifies Mali and Burkina Faso as having high potential for VSS growth among Low Human Development Countries.

The report examines the global banana market, noting that while bananas are the most valuable traded fruit, the sector faces significant challenges including climate change, the Tropical Race 4 fungal disease, and poor farmer livelihoods. It highlights the growth of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs), which accounted for 7% of production in 2016, and identifies opportunities to expand these standards in countries like India, China, and specific LHDCs such as Tanzania and Rwanda to improve environmental and social outcomes.

The report examines the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry, comparing conventional farming with hydroponic and aquaponic systems in greenhouse and vertical formats. A life cycle analysis (LCA) reveals that while conventional agriculture currently has the lowest overall environmental impact, CEA excels in land and water efficiency. The document identifies energy and labor as primary cost hurdles but highlights innovations in LED lighting, AI, and renewable energy as potential solutions. It specifically evaluates St. Louis as a viable location for a pilot project due to its market demand, available stranded assets like caves and brownfields, and supportive local policies.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the most expensive region globally for remittances, with an average cost of 8.9% of transaction value. The report identifies critical supply-side barriers including onerous KYC requirements, lack of digital ecosystems, and fragmented payment infrastructure. It recommends a shift toward risk-proportional AML-CFT regulation, the adoption of digital identity systems, and the integration of regional payment rails to reduce informality and costs.

The document analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the EU carbon market, noting a price drop of nearly 40% to just above €15/ton CO2 as of 25 March 2020. It argues that the current Market Stability Reserve (MSR) is unfit for handling sudden surpluses and proposes specific legislative reforms, including increasing the intake rate to 36% from 2024 and raising the linear reduction factor to at least 4.2%. The author warns against using the health crisis to weaken climate policies or provide unfounded subsidies to polluting sectors like aviation, steel, chemicals, and cement, urging governments to ensure post-pandemic recovery packages support the green transition.

The briefing highlights a significant opportunity for electric vehicles (EVs) to become a dominant class of renewable energy buyers, potentially requiring 640 TWh of electricity by 2030. It urges EV charge point operators (CPOs), electric mobility service providers (eMSPs), and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to develop seamless 100% renewable energy charging solutions, starting with large centralized fleets. The author suggests using energy attribute certificates (EACs) to link electricity consumption with renewable purchases and argues that the incremental cost of renewables is low enough to be absorbed by providers to accelerate adoption. Finally, the document advocates for industry-wide technical standards and interoperable digital infrastructure to enable EVs to participate in energy markets and decarbonization schemes.

The document examines the role of fixed-income instruments in funding waste management and circular economy initiatives. It highlights that while waste management is only the fourth largest category for green bond use of proceeds, there is significant latent potential and investor demand. The briefing details specific issuances from corporates and local governments in Europe, the US, and Asia, and discusses the barriers to scaling these markets, such as the lack of standardised definitions. It particularly emphasizes Japan's leadership in resource efficiency and the potential for green bonds to support its circular economy goals.

The report analyzes 49 green bonds totaling USD36bn issued in H2 2019. It finds that green bonds generally outperformed vanilla equivalents in terms of book cover and spread compression. Approximately 50% of these bonds were allocated to investors identifying as green. The analysis also highlights a 'greenium' (pricing inside the yield curve) for several bonds and examines the growing market for sovereign green bonds, where 12 governments had issued such instruments by December 2019.

Japan's green bond market saw record growth in 2019, with issuance increasing by 70% over 2018 to JPY786.7bn. Financial corporates dominate the market, and proceeds are primarily allocated to buildings, energy, and transport. The market is characterized by a high rate of external reviews, predominantly Second Party Opinions from Sustainalytics. The Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ) supports the market through guidelines, information platforms, and a financial subsidy programme for external review costs.

Carbon Market Watch contends that warnings of a credit shortage for the aviation sector's CORSIA market are 'scaremongering' and that there is sufficient supply to meet demand. The author argues that the ICAO Council should restrict eligible offsets to high-quality projects started in 2020 or later to avoid a flood of cheap, ineffective credits, such as those from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

Class B and C office buildings can achieve significant energy cost savings and value increases through energy efficiency and green leasing, though adoption is hindered by information, resource, and funding constraints.

The report investigates the potential for a new on-tax financing model (EuroPACE) to drive deep energy efficiency retrofits in European residential buildings. It identifies significant market failures, such as long payback periods and knowledge gaps, that hinder private investment. Through analysis of four target countries and three successful case studies (Energiesprong, Oktave, and KfW), the document highlights that success depends on low-cost, long-term financing and the ability to aggregate demand. It projects a total lending potential for EuroPACE of nearly €4bn over ten years across the four primary countries, provided that penetration and renovation rates increase.

The report concludes that the US model of ABS securitisation for PACE loans is not directly applicable to Europe due to regulatory differences, a lack of historical performance data for 'Simple, Transparent and Standardised' (STS) treatment, and diverse national legal frameworks. Instead, it recommends localised solutions such as covered bonds, residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), and aggregation platforms. The document provides a global market analysis of green bonds for low-carbon buildings and outlines standardisation principles for energy efficiency loans to attract institutional capital.

The report assesses the Philippines' green finance landscape, highlighting a strong private-sector-led green bond market and significant investment potential in renewable energy, low-carbon transport, sustainable water, and waste management. It details existing policy frameworks, such as the ASEAN Green Bond Standards, and provides a sample pipeline of 79 green projects to attract international and domestic capital.

The document examines the South African energy storage market, highlighting the shift toward hybrid solar PV and battery systems to mitigate the economic impact of record load shedding. It identifies Lithium-ion (specifically Lithium Iron Phosphate) and Lead Acid as the dominant technologies, while noting that Vanadium Redox Flow and Hydrogen storage face barriers due to limited market penetration and the need for specific use-case analysis. The brief provides cost benchmarks for Li-ion systems and models a hybrid solar PV and storage scenario where the return on investment is estimated at 8-12 years, noting that this period could be reduced if business continuity benefits are factored in.

As of 2018, approximately 80 percent of Bangladeshi households lacked access to clean cooking alternatives, with 74 percent of the rural population relying on biomass. While LPG adoption is growing at 8–10 percent annually due to government tax exemptions, other technologies like electric stoves (1.1% usage) and improved cookstoves (10% usage) face affordability and awareness barriers. Financing is heavily skewed toward improved cookstoves (ICS) via development finance institutions (DFIs) and government programs like IDCOL, while private sector participation remains limited except in the LPG sector. The proposed National Action Plan 2020–2030 estimates a total investment requirement of USD 2.9 billion to achieve 100 percent clean cooking access by 2030.