Partnership between United Nations Environment and the global financial sector to promote sustainable finance
UNEP FI has partnered with EIT Climate-KIC to bring the Thought Leadership Series, which presents papers from some of the world’s leading thinkers to help guide the financial sector towards a sustainable future. Our aim is to inspire financial actors worldwide to move from risk to alignment, challenge current assumptions around climate alignment and develop ideas…
A practical guide for financial institutions to lead a sustainable ocean recovery This seminal guidance is a market-first practical toolkit for financial institutions to pivot their activities towards financing a sustainable blue economy. Designed for banks, insurers and investors, the guidance outlines how to avoid and mitigate environmental and social risks and impacts, as well…
The Climate Risk Landscape: Mapping Climate-related Financial Risk Assessment Methodologies provides a summary of the key developments across third party climate risk assessment providers since May 2019, including new and updated scenarios, methodological tools, key guidelines, as well as an overview of the changing regulatory landscape and potential developments into 2021. This report covers both…
Pathways to Paris’ is a practical guide for financial practitioners looking to understand and apply climate scenarios. Co-authored with the Center for International Climate Research (CICERO), a world-renowned research institution on climate and climate finance, the report examines the driving assumptions and sectoral coverage of the models used to produce climate scenarios, as well as…
‘Decarbonisation and Disruption’ highlights the ways in which many sectors are exposed to transition risk. If not properly managed, a disorderly transition could have major ramifications for financial stability. Financial institutions need to not only prepare for the transition along with their counterparties but must have the right tools for risk assessment. This paper was…
UNEP FI is continuing its partnership with EIT Climate-KIC to bring some of the world’s leading thinkers to contribute to a series of thought leadership papers. Our aim is to inspire financial actors worldwide to move from risk to alignment, challenge current assumptions around climate alignment and develop ideas and concepts on how alignment can…
The Rising Tide report maps the current state of ocean finance revealing trends in lending, underwriting and investment activities which impact the ocean. It reveals the frameworks and financial instruments that are successfully addressing ocean sustainability and highlights new opportunities and gaps in the market. It looks across five major ocean-linked sectors chosen for their established…
UNEP FI and the European Banking Federation (EBF) have launched a unique report assessing the extent to which the EU Taxonomy on Sustainable Activities could be applied to core banking products for labelling or disclosure purposes. This report is the result of a project with 26 major banks, seven banking associations and five observing organisations…
This report analyses the climate change related risks countries in the Arab region are facing such as water scarcity, rising sea levels, drought, land degradation and desertification. It sheds light on the existing strategies and policies on climate adaptation and mitigation in the region, and emphasizes the importance of sustainable finance resources in transitioning to…
22 leading insurers and reinsurers from across the globe worked with UNEP FI to develop the first comprehensive guidance for the insurance industry to identify and disclose the impact of climate change on their businesses. This report represents the largest collaborative effort by market participants to pilot some of the most challenging recommendations of the…
The UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance has released the Inaugural 2025 Target Setting Protocol after consultation on the draft, issued in October 2020. The Alliance is a group of 33 of the world’s largest investors that have committed to reducing carbon emissions in their portfolio – worth over $5.1 trillion in AUM – to net-zero…
In the recovery from the global coronavirus pandemic, government spending and recovery packages will play a pivotal role in underpinning economies, jobs and people’s livelihoods. These measures, already in the trillions of dollars, need not only to be effective in restarting the economy, but also in creating a sustainable economy of the future. This includes…
In the last year, the world has seen an unprecedented acceleration towards a net-zero economy. Governments, companies, financial institutions, cities and regions are joining forces and ‘racing to zero’, aiming to entirely transform the energy system – in just three decades. To date, more than half of the world’s GDP, or almost USD 46 trillion,…
The Collective Commitment to Climate Action (CCCA) is the most ambitious global banking sector initiative supporting the transition to a net zero economy by 2050. It brings together a leadership group of 38 banks from across all six continents who have committed to align their portfolios with the global climate goal to limit warming to…
Our foundational commitment as members of the United Nations-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (the Alliance) is to fully decarbonize our portfolios to contribute to global efforts to avoid a global average temperature increase above 1.5°C, consistent with our fiduciary duty. This will be achieved by inducing reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from companies in which…
Beyond the Horizon: New Tools and Frameworks for Transition Risk Assessments from UNEP FI’s TCFD Banking Programme Thirty-nine global financial institutions from six continents participated in UNEP FI’s second TCFD banking programme. Through this yearlong engagement, the participating banks collaborated with climate risk experts and each other to improve financial assessments of transition risk. In…
From Disclosure to Action: Applying TCFD principles throughout financial institutions Recent reports from the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) indicate how the financial sector has increasingly recognized climate risk as a financial risk. Financial institutions must respond to the threat of climate change by identifying, assessing,…
There is an urgent need to transition to economies that embed circularity and are aligned with global sustainable consumption and production goals. Financial institutions have a critical role to play and can take practical steps to finance the transition. UNEP’s report Financing Circularity: Demystifying Finance for the Circular Economy outlines how the financial sector can…
UNEP FI and the Institute of International Finance (IIF) have developed a TCFD Playbook to serve as a resource for firms at different stages of their TCFD journey, with support from EY. The organisations conducted a joint initiative to assist banks and other financial institutions in their efforts to strengthen climate risk disclosures by convening…
This 3-year progress report provides an update on how the Good Growth Partnership is cultivating sustainability in commodity supply chains, The Good Growth Partnership convenes a wide range of stakeholders and initiatives throughout soy, beef and palm oil supply chains to reduce deforestation and enable sustainable development. It joins forces with national and regional leaders…