Finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries will meet in Shanghai under the leadership of the Chinese presidency. With so many issues on the table for the G20 to deliberate this year, it is telling that the Chinese presidency has chosen to prioritize green finance. This is a topic that is key to ensuring the global economy's transition toward a more sustainable, inclusive pathway. It is also relevant in securing the underlying resilience and effectiveness of financial markets.
by Simon Zadek
As the BRICS tumble and much of the OECD meanders in the economic wilderness, George Soros’s predictions of a global crash should give us cause for concern, given his high-scoring predictive track record. Clearly action is needed as the global economy slows and recent gains in livelihood stability are threatened. But do such crashes actually stop or redirect the underlying direction of travel? Or can those focused on the mega trends ignore such volatility as temporarily unpleasant but irrelevant to the big picture?
by Simon Zadek
It is the Year of Green Finance, as my co-Director Nick Robins points out in a recent Huffington Post piece – The Year of Green Finance – a View from London. Nick was writing on the occasion of a high profile launch of the UNEP Inquiry report, The Financial System We Need, hosted by the Corporation of London, with many CEO’s and ministerial level folks from the UK Government in attendance. London’s financial community has now read and absorbed the memo that the moment has come, and so has launched a green finance initiative to explore the potential for London becoming a global hub for green finance. Hong Kong and Singapore are already part way along this track – wake up New York!
by Nick Robins
Heading into the New Year, global financial markets are experiencing yet another bout of volatility and turbulence. Many political, economic and environmental uncertainties and threats cloud the year ahead. One thing is clear, however. From a strategic perspective, 2015 built a new set of policy foundations for the global economy, signaling new directions for the financial system. We now have the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, the so-called SDGs, which, in essence, plot out an annual investment pipeline measured in the trillions to end poverty and also marry increased prosperity with social inclusion and environmental regeneration. And we also have the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which signaled the shift to a low and ultimately net zero carbon economy, stressed the urgency of improving resilience to climate shocks and mobilized financial institutions and regulators in novel ways.
by UNEP Inquiry
The UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System highlights a ‘quiet revolution’ of green financial policy making: regulators, policymakers and private standard setters around the world exploring steps to align finance with sustainability. This quiet revolution is becoming louder, and gaining momentum, demonstrated for example by China’s championing of green finance in
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