News

The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) today launched The Conceptual Framework for Sustainability Risk Integration that sets out a practical approach to help banks embed sustainability risks into core risk management practices, in response to growing supervisory expectations and technical challenges experienced by banks.

Supporting clients in the transition to a nature-positive economy means embedding nature into client engagement, supporting clients through advice, financial products and solutions, and capacity building. This is both an environmental and strategic imperative. In Asia Pacific, where economies are closely tied to natural systems, enabling client transition can reduce portfolio risk, strengthen resilience, and unlock new business opportunities.

In this interview, Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, reflects on progress against key GBF finance targets, the opportunities for banks and insurers to support a nature‑positive transition, the importance of gender‑responsive finance and leadership, and why strong engagement from the finance sector will be critical at COP17.

UNEP FI with support from peers from the Impact Management Platform has launched a new iteration of its flagship resource…

This new report, aimed at risk professionals at banks, assesses the extent to which sustainability risks are being integrated by the global banking sector. It draws on three evidence streams: a consultation with 28 signatories to the Principles for Responsible Banking across five regions conducted in April and May 2026; stocktakes and thematic reviews published by banking supervisors and international bodies; and industry surveys published between December 2023 and May 2026.

Launched at the UNEP Transition Insurance Series during London Climate Action Week, Insuring and Investing in the Transition is the latest report from the Forum for Insurance Transition (FIT), providing practical guidance to help insurers implement credible, organisation-wide transition plans across underwriting and investment portfolios.

Read about the recently published Just Transition Finance: Case Studies from Banking and Insurance, which illustrates how financial institutions are moving beyond conceptual commitments into an early phase of applied implementation

Financial health and inclusion are central to economic resilience, enabling households and small businesses to meet obligations, manage shocks, and invest - underpinning more resilient portfolios and, ultimately, more sustainable banks. This case study explores how PRB signatories in Asia Pacific are turning financial inclusion gains into resilience.

The NZAOA, along with IIGCC and PRI, urges European policymakers to strengthen the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) ahead of its upcoming review.