Partnership between United Nations Environment and the global financial sector to promote sustainable finance
Banks, investors, insurers and regulators are increasingly analyzing and adapting their financial strategies taking into account the risks and opportunities presented by the clean energy transition. Investments in renewable energy are currently a standard practice for most financial institutions. Investments in energy efficiency are also growing, yet their transaction size is small in comparison. Nevertheless,…
UNEP Finance Initiative’s Annual Overview provides a summary of our work from July 2018 to June 2019. Read about key initiatives, events and training programmes that help banks, insurers, and investors embed sustainability into their daily business. Explore how your organisation can get involved with UNEP FI’s work. Download here.
UNEP FI partnered with Climate Finance Advisors to deliver this report to the Global Commission on Adaptation. It identifies the main barriers in the financial system to accelerated investment in adaptation-related programmes and projects and proposes six sets of recommendations to unlock the financing of adaptation programmes. Even if we reduce our greenhouse gas emissions…
The Principles for Responsible Banking provide the much-needed framework for the sustainable banking system of the future – and enable the banking industry to demonstrate how it makes a positive contribution to society. They have been developed by a core group of 30 banks from five countries, and are designed to guide any bank –…
A new joint report by UNEP FI, PRI and SynTao Green Finance, launched in Shanghai on June 5, 2019, provides recommendations for China’s ESG disclosure framework, prepared by its financial regulators. This report is a follow-up from the Investor Duties and ESG Integration in China, and part of the Fiduciary Duty in the…
Twenty institutional investors from eleven countries, convened by UNEP FI and supported by Carbon Delta, have worked throughout 2018–2019 to analyse, evaluate, and test, state-of-the-art methodologies to enable 1.5°C, 2°C, and 3°C scenario-based analysis of their portfolios in line with the recommendations of the FSB’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The outputs and…
The report, ‘Natural Capital Credit Risk Assessment in Agricultural Lending’ is a new template that enables financial institutions to conduct natural capital credit risk assessment across different agricultural sectors and geographies, taking into account factors such as water availability, use and quality; soil health; biodiversity; energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The new sector-specific guide…
In late 2018, a global survey was conducted to better understand how the attitudes, strategies, and practices of real estate investors, and fund and asset managers are incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria, and the degree to which they may need to strengthen their commitments so that their portfolios are aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. More than…
Pirate fishing—also known as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing—exposes insurers to legal, financial and reputational risks, but also puts food security and jobs in danger while destroying marine habitats and ocean life. Financially, the colossal cost of illegal fishing on the global economy is estimated to be between USD 10 billion and 23.5 billion…
The UNEP FI Property Working Group, in collaboration with RICS, PRI, and members of the Global Investor Coalition on Climate Change, have produced a practical, action-oriented framework to accelerate a new financing paradigm for the delivery of the global SDGs. The 25 leading institutional investors and asset managers of the UNEP FI Property Working Group…
The report, ‘Integrating Natural Capital in Risk Assessments’ is a step-by-step guide to help financial institutions conduct a rapid natural capital risk assessment. The guide has already been piloted by five banks, and complements the recently launched ENCORE tool (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure), which enables financial institutions to understand and assess their exposure to natural capital risks. The guide helps banks…
The world’s first comprehensive tool linking environmental change with its consequences for the economy has been launched by the Natural Capital Finance Alliance (NCFA). The web-based tool, called ENCORE (Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure), will help global banks, investors and insurance firms assess the risks that environmental degradation, such as the pollution of oceans or destruction of…
UNEP FI, the PRI and The Generation Foundation have published a report focusing on the policy work of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on sustainable finance and investment. This briefing makes recommendations to the OECD to align policy work on the financial sector with globally agreed sustainable development objectives, such as the…
In November 2018, United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and The Generation Foundation in collaboration with Finance for Tomorrow published the Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century: France Roadmap. The roadmap sets out recommendations for the French market to build upon its leadership position and achieve further progress…
In Rethinking Impact to Finance the SDGs, we explore new ways to significantly decrease the cost of achieving the SDGs and stimulate business and financing solutions at scale. Social, economic and environmental impacts have an as-yet under explored potential to generate financial revenues: impact-based business models can be developed, with the delivery of positive impacts…
The Impact Radar aims to offer a credible and comprehensive set of impact categories that can be integrated with the tools developed to deliver PI finance and contribute to a common frame for the assessment of PI products in the industry. The radar captures the core elements of the SDGs in a way that is…
This Model Framework covers Financial Products for Corporates with unspecified use of funds, i.e. where the funds raised or guarantees issued are used at the Corporate’s discretion, without any specified use. For example: General corporate purpose (GCP) Loans/Overdraft, Corporate Bonds with GCP use of proceeds, Equity (primary & secondary issuance), Off-balance sheet corporate products (e.g.…
This Positive Impact Initiative Model Framework covers Financial Products where the funds raised or guarantees issued are used for a specific purpose, in this case Project-related finance within the scope of the Equator Principles. For example: project finance transactions, Project-related corporate loans, bridge loans to project finance, project-related transactions supported by Export Credit Agencies (Products…
UNEP FI’s Annual Overview provides a summary of our work during 2017 and the first half of 2018. Read about key initiatives and events across banking, insurance and investment, and explore how your organisation can get involved with UNEP FI’s work. Download here.
The aim of this Roadmap is to set a vision and lay the groundwork to establish a comprehensive and far-reaching sustainable finance strategy contributing to the Agenda 2030 and towards the objectives of the Paris Agreement. This Roadmap is ambitious in terms of Luxembourg’s contributions to sustainable development and climate action, it is forward looking…