Inquiry Publications

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  European Union Report

  Date: 22-Mar-2016

  This report presents a stock-take of actions under way at the European Union level and in selected Member States to align the rules governing the financial system with environmental sustainability. Looking across the range of innovations across the EU, five broad policy priorities emerge. The central challenge of financing sustainable development in the EU is
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  Financial Risk and the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy

  Date: 06-Jul-2015

  Climate change  creates two types of potential risks for financial institutions: Physical changes – both through gradual change and extreme weather events which are likely to alter the supply and demand dynamic of many industries and lead to physical damages to assets. The transition to a low carbon economy will alter the financial viability of a part of
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  Green SMEs and Access to Finance

  Date: 15-May-2015

  The paper focuses on the role of banking diversity on access to finance for SMEs in the green economy. It demonstrates the relationship between the green economy and SMEs, and argues that access to finance is not just a function of broader macroeconomic factors but also the structure of the banking system. Specifically, it demonstrates
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  Equity markets, benchmark indices, and the transition to a low-carbon economy

  Date: 15-Jun-2015

  Equity markets have a significant share in financial markets, with institutional investors and market-capitalization weighted indices playing a substantial role. Today’s landscape of market-capitalization weighted indices favours high-carbon sectors and creates biases against green, low-carbon technologies. As a result, institutional investors have lower exposure to the green economy, which, in the context of the transition