The report Financing for SMEs in Sustainable Global Value Chains demonstrates how governments, financial institutions and businesses can work together to support financing models that encourage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to upgrade their production processes to comply with sustainability standards in global value chains (GVCs).
Part 1 explores the importance of SMEs and GVCs for emerging economies. It also examines the rise of sustainability standards and the challenges and opportunities they pose for SMEs. Part 2 reports findings from a stocktaking exercise conducted through a survey administered to governments, financial institutions, businesses and information technology platforms in G20 and non-G20 economies. Lastly, Part 3 outlines policy considerations for the various stakeholders, governments, financial institutions and businesses to develop new financing models to support sustainability-oriented SMEs in GVCSs.
The paper Green Foreign Direct Investment in Developing Countries focuses on the actual and potential role of foreign direct investment (FDI) in achieving the transition to a low-carbon, just and sustainable world and, more specifically, FDI flows into developing countries.
There is reason to be hopeful about the potential contributions of green FDI; but real progress requires a more accurate and robust definition of “green FDI”, and stronger commitments across different layers of government and by private sector actors to ensure FDI helps address modern environmental challenges. This paper attempts to aid the effort by taking stock of where we are and highlighting potential ways forward.
The paper Turning Up the Volume: Financial Aggregation for Off-Grid Energy seeks to give an overview of approaches to financial aggregation, highlighting how aggregation models tackle barriers to reaching scale in the decentralised small-scale renewable energy sector.
The paper Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reduction and the World Trade Organization develops the contours of an ambitious approach to fossil fuel subsidy reform using the multilateral trade system.
As Ontario and other provinces move toward a greener economy, policymakers should consider the implications of these changes on employment opportunities, and particularly opportunities for decent work. The report Decent Work in the Green Economy explores this challenge.
The report Arab Environment in 10 Years culminates a decade of the series of annual reports produced by the Arab Forum for Environment and Development (AFED) on the state of Arab environment.