If the Agreement’s goal - limit the global temperature increase below 2°C - is to be met, all financial flows need to shift dramatically and rapidly from current investment patterns to 2°C compatible pathways. This study analyses the roles Nordic actors might play in mobilizing finance flows internationally and outlines a roadmap that can guide joint Nordic action during the next five to ten years. While the roadmap covers components of “climate-related ODA” and climate compatible contributions from the private sector, the focus of the roadmap lies on the crucial bridging and dialogue that is required between key actors. Building on identified Nordic strengths and areas needing accelerated international support, the report concludes with a set of immediate next steps to operationalize the roadmap in 2017-2018.
Lighting is widely used in everyday life. It is a significant factor contributing to our quality of life and productivity of our workforces. Artificial illumination extends the productive day, enabling people to work in homes, offices, buildings and factories. Lighting equipment, however, consumes resources. It does so in the manufacturing phase and, more importantly, when installed and operating (i.e. producing light). As our economies grow and populations expand, the global demand for lighting will increase. This period of technology transition from old to new products is an opportunity to governments. They can introduce cost-effective policy measures across all lighting applications yielding substantial savings and accelerating the adoption of LED-based lighting.
UN Environment and the World Bank Group view the overarching objective of a sound financial system as being to provide finance that meets the long-term needs of an inclusive, environmentally sustainable economy. While there is no single blueprint or unique pathway for creating such a “sustainable financial system”, it is possible to describe its many characteristics and progress towards it. Progress is being made in advancing a sustainable financial system. However, despite such positive momentum, we risk slipping backwards if financing for sustainable development remains inadequate, and if much financing continues to flow towards unsustainable production and consumption patterns.
The UN Environment and the World Bank Group’s Roadmap initiative intends to design an action plan that moves towards a sustainable financial system, including its elements, sequencing and principal actors, and a basis for measuring progress. The Roadmap will build on the extensive experience of both partners and many others active in the field. At this stage, aligning the financial system to SDGs and the Paris Agreement requires the Roadmap to include several core pillars.
The market for green bonds has risen from USD 3 billion in 2011 to USD 95 billion in issuance in 2016. For policy makers, the report proposes a framework for understanding potential directions of bond market evolution, increased convergence of rules and definitions, and quantitative analysis of the potential contribution that bond markets can make to a low-carbon transition.
This report describes the development of the green bond market as an innovative instrument for green finance and provides a review of policy actions and options to promote further market development and growth. The report provides an overview of global green bond market developments to date, barriers to growth, policy tools that can be applied to scale the market further, and quantitative scenarios for green bond market growth from 2015 to 2035.
Overreliance on investment in the so-called ‘brown economy’ between the late 20th and early 21st centuries led to a state of financial imbalance and was a contributing factor in the global financial crises of 2008. An alternative economic paradigm, centred on a ‘greening’ of the economy, provides greater focus on investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, public transportation, sustainable agriculture, ecosystem and biodiversity protection, and land and water conservation. These ‘green economies’ are also likely to be more resilient and socially inclusive, particularly in the face of environmental pressures, such as climate change.