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The report identifies barriers to private urban climate investment across macro, city, and project levels, and provides recommendations for city governments, public sector partners, and private/third sector entities to improve enabling conditions. It analyzes five case studies from Chile, Ecuador, India, South Africa, and Turkiye to highlight success factors such as bulk procurement, green bonds, and strategic partnerships.

The report analyzes R141 billion in pandemic-related loans from the IMF, World Bank, New Development Bank (NDB), and African Development Bank (AfDB). While these loans were cheaper than market-issued debt, the authors find they were approved opaquely and often carried conditionalities that pushed South Africa toward fiscal consolidation and privatization. The report highlights a lack of gender-responsive budgeting and human rights impact assessments, noting that austerity measures have negatively impacted social grants and public services. It recommends that all future IFI loan agreements and their projected costs be tabled in Parliament and subjected to human rights impact assessments.

The report analyzes why private finance for climate adaptation in developing countries remains low, citing lack of clear revenue streams and high transaction costs for small-scale projects. It evaluates established and emerging financial instruments—such as blended finance, guarantees, and payment for ecosystem services—and argues that the most effective path forward is not the creation of new instruments, but the innovative combination and application of existing ones to match specific project needs.

The Climate Bonds Standard 4.0 provides a comprehensive framework for certifying Use of Proceeds (UoP) debt instruments, physical assets, non-financial legal entities, and Sustainability-Linked Debt (SLD). It requires independent verification by accredited verifiers and mandates rigorous disclosure and reporting to maintain certification. For entities and SLDs, the standard emphasizes a 'credible transition' based on five characteristics: alignment with the Paris Agreement, robust planning, implementation of actions, internal oversight, and external reporting. Certification levels are divided into 'Aligned' (already meeting industry standards) and 'Transition' (expected to meet standards by December 31, 2030).

The Climate Bonds Standard version 4.0 provides a science-based framework for certifying Use of Proceeds (UoP) debt instruments, physical assets, non-financial legal entities, and sustainability-linked debt (SLD). It establishes rigorous pre- and post-issuance requirements, including mandatory verification by Approved Verifiers, the development of transition plans, and annual public disclosure of allocation and eligibility. The standard introduces a 'Certification Threshold' for entities and SLDs, requiring 90% of economic activities to be compliant. It also mandates 'Climate Safeguards' for parent groups, including commitments to net zero and the prohibition of fossil fuel expansion after January 1, 2023.

The document analyzes Brazil's public policies for reducing methane emissions in agriculture, noting that while frameworks like the Ecological Transformation Plan and the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy exist, there is a lack of specific, targeted incentives for methane abatement in the livestock sector, which is the primary source of these emissions.

The global GSS+ debt market reached a cumulative volume of USD3.7tn by the end of 2022, though new issuance fell 24% year-on-year to USD858.5bn due to rising interest rates and macroeconomic instability. Green bonds remained the dominant theme, accounting for 58% of 2022 volumes at USD487.1bn, while social bonds saw the steepest decline (41%) as COVID-19 recovery funding tapered. Transition bonds were the only segment to grow, increasing 5% to USD3.5bn, driven by policy support in China and Japan. The report also highlights the emergence of sovereign sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) in Chile and Uruguay and the need for a dedicated Climate Resilience Taxonomy to scale adaptation and resilience (A&R) financing.

The document argues that MDBs must shift from a project-by-project approach to coordinated country and sector platforms, utilizing 'Just Term Sheets' to standardize transition investments. It recommends scaling risk-sharing instruments, such as guarantees and local currency loans, to lower the cost of capital in EMDEs. Furthermore, it calls for a business model overhaul, transitioning from an 'originate to hold' to an 'originate to distribute' model to recycle capital and increase lending capacity. The paper also emphasizes the need for standardized KPIs, improved data sharing via entities like the GEMS risk database, and the institutionalization of crisis-response toolkits for regular climate action.

The document outlines a strategy for India to transition to a green steel economy, identifying five primary technical levers—green hydrogen, renewable electricity, CCUS, scrap usage, and energy efficiency—and six policy objectives to drive the transition through standards, procurement, R&D, and sustainable finance.

The report analyzes the Brazilian sustainable securitization market, highlighting the dominance of green labels and the potential for asset-backed securities (ABS) to fund small-scale sustainable projects in agriculture and energy.

The report analyzes Brazil's sustainable securitisation market, highlighting the role of Agribusiness Receivables Certificates (CRA) and Real Estate Receivables Certificates (CRI) in funding green and social projects. It identifies a significant opportunity to use ABS to aggregate small-scale sustainable projects, particularly in agriculture and renewable energy, to attract institutional capital.

The document outlines a comprehensive framework of 101 sustainable finance policies categorized by three primary ambitions: speed, steer, and simplify. It provides specific recommendations across various government departments—including fiscal, trade, energy, and industrial policy—as well as for central banks and financial regulators. The guide emphasizes the need for science-based targets, the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, the use of green taxonomies, and the implementation of derisking mechanisms like blended finance to mobilize private capital for the 1.5°C transition.

The report evaluates corporate climate alignment using the CCIF, finding that while mitigation efforts (such as GHG reporting and renewable energy procurement) are common, there is a critical lack of detailed climate adaptation planning. Analysis of 483 debt issuers reveals that no company performed well across all three CCIF objectives, and only 14% have an adaptation and resilience plan. Sector-level data shows utilities as the highest performers in reporting and transition, while healthcare and automotive sectors suffer from significant data gaps. Case studies of companies in China, India, South Korea, and Singapore highlight the use of internal carbon pricing and science-based targets, but emphasize the need for better Scope 3 emissions tracking and quantitative physical risk assessments.

The report finds that green bonds in EUR and USD generally outperformed vanilla equivalents in H2 2022, exhibiting higher book cover and greater spread compression. While the incidence of an outright 'greenium' (pricing inside the yield curve) decreased due to macroeconomic volatility, green bonds still achieved relatively tighter pricing than matched vanilla pairs. Approximately 67% of these bonds were allocated to green or responsible investors. The report also notes a trend of auto manufacturers increasing their use of green labels and a net growth of 11.2% in green bond ETF assets.

The document identifies a significant financing gap for Colombia's climate goals and argues that a Just Transition requires dedicated investment in labor retraining, social protection, and regional diversification. It analyzes the current distribution of climate finance—dominated by public resources (67%)—and suggests leveraging innovative tools like sovereign green bonds and carbon tax revenues to ensure stability and equity in the transition.

The document argues that the global biodiversity finance gap—estimated at an annual need of USD 536 billion by 2050—cannot be closed by grants alone. It proposes a blended finance approach that integrates information, regulatory, economic, institutional, and financial instruments to de-risk investments and catalyze private capital. Using the Green Climate Fund's (GCF) portfolio as a basis, the paper demonstrates how combining instruments (e.g., pairing carbon credits with parametric insurance), sequencing them along a maturity-concessionality gradient (e.g., the Amazon Bioeconomy Fund), and establishing long-term partnerships (e.g., Project Finance for Permanence) can create sustainable financial models for nature-based solutions.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Australia's green bank, uses an endowment-based model to provide concessional loans and equity to low-carbon projects. Since 2012, it has committed A$10.8 billion, leveraging a private-finance rate of 242 per cent and achieving over 200 megatonnes of CO2e reductions. While successful in crowding-in private investment and maintaining profitability, the CEFC faces risks of political interference via government-appointed boards and lacks specific targets for climate justice. The document suggests Canada's Canada Growth Fund and Canada Infrastructure Bank should adopt clear mission-driven mandates, target strategic institutional partners, and prioritize technical institutional knowledge.

The document examines the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), Australia's 'green bank', which uses public capital to crowd-in private investment for low-carbon technologies. It details the CEFC's financial instruments, its success in generating a positive return on investment and significant emission reductions, and its vulnerability to political shifts. The analysis concludes with strategic recommendations for Canada's Canada Infrastructure Bank and Canada Growth Fund based on the CEFC's ten-year experience.

The document argues that current green and sustainable debt instruments rely on non-binding standards and proposes a stricter framework. For green bonds and loans, it suggests requiring exclusive use for green activities (referencing the EU Taxonomy or Climate Bond Initiative) and an 'entity-level' criterion, such as excluding harmful sectors or requiring a certified 1.5°C-aligned transition plan. For Sustainability-linked bonds (SLB) and loans (SLL), it proposes mandatory prior adoption of a certified transition plan and KPIs linked to material emission reductions. Additionally, it recommends banning the use of green debt for refinancing and implementing significant financial penalties for failing to meet environmental targets.

WWF-Singapore's 2022 baseline assessment of 41 banks reveals that while over half recognize E&S risks in the seafood sector, only 20% have disclosed specific sector policies. The average score across 34 sub-indicators was 17%, with European banks showing the most robust policies and Asian and North American banks lagging. The report finds that expectations for wild-catch production are the most developed, while aquaculture and downstream requirements are lacking. WWF recommends that banks align policies with UNEP FI Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative guidance, integrate seafood risks into broader thematic policies, and develop targeted 'blue' financial products.