What a difference a year makes. Just twelve months ago, the question of how the world’s US$315 trillion financial system should evolve to respond to the pressing challenge of environmental sustainability was still a minority sport. Last week in Washington, as finance ministers and central bank governors gathered to explore once again how to boost the global economy, a new dimension had entered the equation: green finance.
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Governor of China's Central Bank Zhou Xiaochuan has stressed that green finance is a key agenda pushed by China this year and that the financial system should play an imperative role in the transition to a green economy. The Chinese central banker made the statement while attending the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors' meeting in Washington. Under the Chinese Presidency, G20 launched the Green Finance Study Group to mobilize private capital for green investments. And a Green Finance Task Force co-convened by China's central bank and the United Nations Environment Program has identified a set of 14 proposals to encourage sustainable finance. These cover fiscal, regulatory, judicial and institutional innovations.
by Vibeka Mair
‘Mr. Green Finance’, who could be a character in a reboot of the 1990s Tarantino hit Reservoir Dogs, is the nickname of Dr. Ma Jun, Chief Economist of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank and financial regulator.
by Simon Zadek
UNEP’s “The Financial System We Need” marks a significant step forward but is nevertheless wrong or at least inadequate in (at least) one major respect. The financial system is under-going profound change that has not been addressed in UNEP’s work to date. In part these changes result from the policy and regulatory moves following in the wake of the financial crisis. But more important are the disruptions to the financial system underpinned by ‘fintech’.
by Simon Zadek
Shanghai, 27th February … the world’s finance ministers and central bank governors are gathered under China’s G20 Presidency, accompanied by the heads of major international organizations responsible for steering the stability and success of the global economy and financial system. Two days of tough talks behind them already focused on slowing growth, weak employment data and the dangers of a re-emergence of turmoil in financial markets.
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