Jordan Kuwait Bank has issued the country’s first green bond, a key milestone for sustainability driven capital investments in the country. But getting momentum going in the sector will be an uphill battle.

Standard Chartered’s new chief sustainability officer is not shying away from the reality of what the energy transition looks like in emerging markets.

Risk-sharing mechanisms could help drive confidence in the voluntary carbon market, but insurance products are scarce.

What will UBS’s post-merger sustainable finance strategy look like?

Solar thermal technology could offer cheap carbon-free heat for manufacturers. But tech developers are stuck in a financing gap between venture capital and project finance that will be harder to fill after recent bank failures.

The EU green bond standard is understandably broad. But because of this, the limits between sustainable and transition finance remain unclear.

The recent update to the green taxonomy and implementation of the SFDR RTS have received a mixed reception in parts of the EU.

Asset managers are spooked by mandatory disclosure regulations coming into force in January. This is good news for the anti-greenwashing campaign, not so much for biodiversity lovers.

COP27 placed green hydrogen production at the top of the global net-zero agenda. Banks want to fund this technology, but energy supply, cost and regulatory uncertainty are jeopardizing its future as the decarbonization solution for hard-to-abate sectors.

Strategies and financing need to be radically reassessed to achieve sustainability in a rapidly changing world.

Qatari banks are eager to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable banking amid growing public scrutiny of the environmental cost of hosting the World Cup.

The climate circus has packed up and left, with everyone disappointed and no one surprised. Some thoughts from a COP first-timer.

Saving the planet requires shutting down coal plants while also ensuring the livelihood of the people who depend on them. The ADB has a plan.

Reports published at COP27 suggest slow but steady progress by banks on interim sector targets for net zero. But political reality, particularly in the US, requires a delicate approach.

Bank’s ESG head urges competitors and regulators to respond more quickly to emissions accounting challenge.

New opportunities in oil and gas as supply is reoriented away from Russia highlight the question of how quickly cuts to financed emissions will match banks’ enthusiasm for growth in clean energy.

Climate-smart innovations and regenerative agriculture are attracting tech-savvy equity investors to the farming sector. Access to affordable financing will determine how fast those companies can grow to scale and provide an exit.

As the private sector demands more guidelines, COP27 should promote the development of a global framework on innovative finance.

European banks have raced far ahead of their US peers on sustainability. But the continent is now facing an energy emergency, creating pressure from some corners to reverse investment declines in oil and gas. Can Europe’s banks remain frontrunners in sustainable finance in today’s fragile geopolitical environment?

Boutique investment bank DAI Magister suggests donor funds could catalyse private equity and debt investment in climate tech, the big theme of COP27.

Carbon credit traders want to secure the integrity of the voluntary carbon market while encouraging speculative trading that could fix its liquidity problem.

Demand for carbon offsetting credits on the VCM has intensified as corporates look for solutions to reach net zero. But as more and more institutions look to tap this market, can the existing infrastructure cope?

Regulators want to prevent greenwashing; corporates need to abide by the rules. What happens when science doesn’t help?

New deal adds two-year payment deferral to existing natural-disaster clause to mitigate impact of a future pandemic.

Fossil fuel assets were set to become obsolete in the transition to net zero. But the war in Ukraine is forcing European governments to secure alternative energy sources and driving demand for coal, oil and gas back in the wrong direction. With the global energy transition seemingly pitched against national energy security agendas, banks are trying to navigate a difficult path through the turmoil.

The Netherlands wants biodiversity to be at the forefront of agricultural reform. But the government’s plan to buy out livestock farmers – which was behind the resignation of agriculture minister Henk Staghouwer last week – is a short-sighted solution.

Anti-ESG boycotts are unlikely to cross the Atlantic.

The Singaporean bank has launched sector-specific decarbonization commitments it says are industry-leading. For them to be achieved, the bank’s corporate client base is going to need to make changes, too.

The government is prepared to take drastic measures to reduce the nitrogen produced by livestock. But as farmers resist being pushed out of a profitable sector, the dispute demonstrates the cost of turning climate agendas into a race to cut emissions as quickly as possible.

As scrutiny of the ESG sector intensifies, how can green funds provide the kind of data that the regulators are starting to demand?