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The document argues that BlackRock Investment Management (UK) is unfit to advise the European Commission on environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in banking because of its financial stakes in fossil fuels and its history of lobbying against the EU taxonomy. The signatories claim that BlackRock's role as a major shareholder in European and global banks, as well as its holdings in coal, oil, and gas, create a conflict of interest that undermines the European Green Deal. The letter requests the cancellation of the contract, public disclosure of future reports, and a revision of the Commission's consultation procedures to reduce the influence of the fossil fuel industry.

Alexey Miroshnichenko of VEB.RF outlines the development of a Russian Green Finance Standard designed to mobilize private capital for the state's "Ecology" national project. The standard aims to create a sustainable finance market in Russia by offering incentives such as coupon subsidies and tax breaks, while aligning with international CBI and ICMA criteria to attract foreign investors. Key priorities include waste management, air pollution reduction, and the restoration of ecosystems like Lake Baikal and the Volga.

The Green Bond Treasurer Survey finds that while cheaper pricing is often cited as a primary driver, issuers actually value intangible benefits more, such as enhanced reputation, a broader investor base, and improved internal risk management. The survey reveals that 98% of respondents attracted new investors and 91% experienced deeper investor engagement. Most issuers (88%) plan to issue more green bonds, and 85% utilized Second Party Opinions (SPOs) to ensure integrity. The report emphasizes that the process of issuing a green bond often catalyzes internal sustainability commitments and the creation of sustainability committees.

China is the world's largest primary energy consumer and energy-related CO2 emitter. While the country is on track to meet most 2020 targets from its 13th Five-Year Plan, energy-related CO2 emissions continued to grow through 2018, surpassing 10 GtCO2. The report's 'Continuous Improvement Scenario' projects that primary energy consumption will peak in 2029 at 5,400 Mtce and CO2 emissions will peak in 2025 at 10,930 MtCO2, subsequently declining to 5,010 MtCO2 by 2050. This outlook assumes the maximum adoption of commercially available energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, leading to a power system where non-fossil sources generate 89% of electricity by 2050.

This knowledge brief from Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), produced in support of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP), examines the challenges and opportunities associated with financing sustainable cooling solutions across diverse user needs.

The document is a scoping study on municipal sustainability-related bonds, analyzing the allocation of proceeds and barriers to uptake to support the financing of sustainability goals in Swedish cities.

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.

The Green Economy Coalition (GEC) has established a 10-year action plan (2020–2030) to drive structural economic reform globally. The strategy identifies five systemic flaws in current economic models—including outdated metrics like GDP and short-termism in finance—and proposes five key interventions: reforming governance, financial systems, economic sectors, inequality, and the valuation of nature. To achieve these, GEC will pursue four pathways: telling new narratives, building critical mass through citizen dialogue, influencing policy via tools like the Green Economy Tracker, and transitioning to a decentralized 'network of networks' structure. The goal is to ensure that by 2030, inclusive green economy principles are central to decisions made by policymakers, business leaders, and citizens.

The report details a three-day event focused on 'Local Green Enterprises' (LGEs)—MSMEs that prioritize nature, resource efficiency, and social justice. It examines global green economy trends, applies Gandhian philosophy to local development, and identifies sector-specific roadblocks in India. The document concludes with the 'Delhi Declaration,' which calls for the Government of India to improve public procurement, provide affordable credit, and recognize Triple Bottom Line (TBL) impacts for LGEs.

The South African energy services market, comprising small-scale embedded generation (SSEG), energy storage, and energy efficiency, is projected to reach a total available market value of approximately R125 billion by 2035. Growth is driven by rising Eskom electricity tariffs, falling costs of renewable technologies, and supportive regulatory shifts, such as the unbundling of Eskom and the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Key emerging opportunities include the bundling of rooftop solar PV projects to attract larger investors, solar PV for energy resellers in property developments, and the retrofitting of existing buildings for energy efficiency. While the C&I sector currently dominates solar installations, the energy storage market is expected to grow significantly through grid management and resource adequacy applications, potentially valued between R15 billion and R30 billion by 2030.

The IISD's 2020-2025 strategic orientation, termed the CREATE framework, prioritizes driving clean energy transitions, protecting biodiversity and water resources, and promoting inclusive economic rules. The organization aims to leverage the post-COVID-19 recovery to 'build back better' and increase its global influence through strategic partnerships and enhanced communication.

The report finds that while all surveyed infrastructure investors use ESG scoring frameworks, integration is most prevalent in qualitative evaluation and post-investment monitoring, with less emphasis on valuation modelling. Key drivers for ESG integration include financial returns, risk management, and brand reputation. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and physical climate risks are the most integrated factors, particularly in the energy, utilities, and transport sectors, whereas biodiversity remains the least integrated due to quantification challenges. The report notes a shift from simple negative screening toward a more nuanced approach where investors may acquire unsustainable assets to finance their transition to sustainability.

A consortium of social justice and consumer organisations has written to several major institutional investors, including BlackRock, Aviva Investors, and Norges Bank Investment Management, to raise concerns about Kellogg's business practices in Mexico. The authors allege that since 2013, Kellogg's has reduced or removed two-thirds of essential micronutrients from its most popular cereal brands in Mexico to save costs. According to the consortium's analysis, Kellogg's saved an estimated 85 million USD over five years, while the minimum cumulative social cost to Mexico for the reduction of iron, calcium, and folic acid was 250 million USD. The letters argue that this practice contradicts Kellogg's public commitments to tackle food security and undernutrition, and poses a reputational and financial risk to investors who adhere to sustainable investment and ESG principles.

The project has achieved moderately satisfactory progress, with significant successes in soy (Cerrado agreement and Soy Toolkit) and supply chain transparency (Trase platform). However, progress in Indonesia's palm oil market and Paraguay's beef sector has been slower due to delays in consumer awareness and a lack of consensus on sustainability standards. The evaluation recommends strengthening communication strategies in Indonesia and adopting a systems approach in Paraguay to better integrate production, demand, and finance.

The Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme, a partnership between FMDQ Securities Exchange, Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), and FSD Africa, aims to develop a corporate green bond market in Nigeria over three years. Since its June 2018 launch, the programme has facilitated capacity building for regulators, investors, and issuers, and supported the creation of the SEC's Green Bond Listing Rules. Key achievements include the issuance of the first CBI-certified corporate green bond in Africa by Access Bank PLC and a long-tenured green infrastructure bond by North South Power. The report emphasizes the need for financial incentives, such as tax credits, to offset the costs of external reviews and to attract private capital to bridge Nigeria's significant infrastructure gap.

The document argues that while governments hold primary responsibility for climate policy, central banks and financial regulators (CBFRs) should actively use their powers to 'green' the financial system. It identifies systemic risks from 'brown' assets and the 'tragedy of the horizons,' where short-term financial metrics undervalue long-term climate risks. The briefing proposes a comprehensive toolkit for CBFRs, including the creation of a 'brown taxonomy,' mandatory climate disclosures, and the adjustment of risk-weightings and collateral haircuts to penalize carbon-intensive assets and reward green ones. It also suggests reforming quantitative easing (QE) and reserve management to move away from 'market neutrality' toward a model that supports sustainable investment.

The document critiques biodiversity offsetting markets, asserting that they are conceptually flawed and practically ineffective. It argues that nature cannot be accurately priced or restored to its original state, and that such markets often lead to land grabbing and human rights violations. Instead, the author proposes a return to binding environmental regulations and sustainable practices like agroecology to protect ecosystems.

The briefing critiques the shift in biodiversity policy from conservation to 'restoration' through financial markets. It argues that biodiversity offsetting—where developers pay to recreate habitats to justify destroying existing ones—is based on the flawed premise that nature can be monetized and replaced. The author cites high failure rates in restoration projects, the inability of markets to price public goods or scarcity, and the risk of land grabbing. Instead of market tools, the document advocates for binding environmental laws and sustainable practices like agroecology to protect biodiversity.

The document critiques the shift from biodiversity conservation to 'restoration' via financial markets, arguing that biodiversity offsets are conceptually flawed and practically ineffective. It asserts that these mechanisms often lead to net habitat loss and human rights abuses. The author contends that nature cannot be accurately valued monetarily and that the core concepts of 'price signals' and 'additionality' are invalid in this context. As an alternative, the report proposes binding conservation laws to restrict unsustainable economic activities and foster sustainable practices like agroecology.

The GCF's Private Sector Facility (PSF) aims to green the financial systems of developing countries by addressing capacity, market, and policy barriers. The GCF utilizes three primary pillars: providing concessional financing and project preparation grants, implementing policy-level interventions through its Readiness Programme, and conducting outreach through partnerships with global networks. The document highlights the critical role of central banks as regulators and the importance of local financial institutions (LFIs) in reaching micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and households. Case studies from Mongolia, Ghana, and West Africa demonstrate the use of on-lending models and risk-sharing instruments to scale up renewable energy and climate-resilient agriculture.