The side event which was organized by UNEP FI asked panellists to address the following issues: 

• existing ambiguity on what private climate finance is; 
• how private sector sources can connect with needs on the ground; and
• different approaches that the GCF Private Sector Facility (PSF) can use to mobilize finance where it is needed.

Panelists also discussed how private sector capital could potentially address mitigation or climate resilience. The following conclusions were drawn:

• Public-private partnerships were seen as an essential element with the GCF playing a role in leveraging private sector finance. 
• Public funds have been used to leverage private sector finance to promote energy efficiency. 
• Reliability was the most important driver of investment as it reduces liability and risk.  

More information here.

The E-RISC report was successfully launched over the past month in Australia, UK and the US. The project was initiated by UNEP FI, Global Footprint Network and a number of asset owners, investment managers and information providers.

The E-RISC (Environmental Risk in Sovereign Credit) project investigates sovereign credit risk from an angle that has been largely overlooked by bond markets to date: natural resource risks and environmental impacts. The project explored to what extent natural resource risks can impact a country's economy and thus, its ability to pay its debts. With a current amount of more than USD 40 trillion of outstanding sovereign debt, the stakes are high and the issue demands closer inspection.

Results provide a first insight into how factors such as resource prices, ecosystem degradation and climate change impacts on national economies, and provides a sense of how these criteria can be factored in sovereign credit risk models and hence in selection and weighting of sovereign bonds and sovereign credit ratings.

Upcoming Seminar 

A seminar  will be organized on E-RISC in Tokyo at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank on December 26, 2013, at 13:30 - 15:30, Tokyo time. For more information please refer to the UNEP FI website.

More Information here.

Tomorrow's Capital Markets represents the first phase of a long-term effort that aims to scrutinise sustainability the effectiveness of the current incentives structure and correct its most blatant flaws.

The event, held in London on the 29 November, discussed the changing role of capital markets and the need for strong leadership with contributions from Paul Abberley from Aviva Investors and David Pitt-Watson.

The publication identifies the complexity of incentives faced by different actors along the investment chain and flags some of the fundamental challenges - from communication gaps to the lack of viable metrics - arising from this intricate web.

View the publication here.

More than 150 professionals from the banking, investment and insurance industries, policy-making arena, civil society, media and academia gathered at Schloss Bensberg, Germany, on 13-14 November, to exchange knowledge and experience on the integration of sustainability in the DNA of the finance sector. 

The eighth edition of the Germanophone Roundtable Conference on sustainable finance was organized by the German Association for Environmental Management and Sustainability in Financial Institutions (VfU) in partnership with UNEP FI, and tackled the subject 'Mainstreaming Sustainability in the Core Business of Financial Institutions'.

More information here.

The field of Responsible Property Investment (RPI) has gained increasing prominence and acceptance among real estate investors in both developed and developing countries over the past few years.

The report Responsible Property Investment - What the leaders are doing 2nd looks at each stage of the investment process and highlights case studies of what some of the foremost property investment organisations around the world have been doing to apply RPI principles within their decision-making, thereby improving the environmental and social performance or governance of their property portfolios.

View the publication here.

View the press release here.

Institutional investor networks representing the world's largest investors published an open letter addressed to governments of the world's largest economies calling for a new dialogue on climate change policy in order to avert dangerous climate change and its resulting economic impacts. The letter, announced ahead of international climate negotiations in Doha called for:

• Clear, consistent and predictable policies that encourage low carbon investment;
• Knowledge sharing between governments on effective climate and clean energy policies, building on successful existing national and regional measures;
• Stronger international agreements that send clear market signals about the future of climate policy and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions

 View the publication here.

The third issue of the Chief Liquidity Series focuses on a number of sub-sectors within the broader extractive sector. The first part of the briefing displays how water risks may manifest themselves in different types of extractive sub-sectors and how this in turn could affect the finance sector. Within the realm of this publication we focused on the following sub-sectors: coal, seam gas, precious metals, oil sands and base metals.

The second part of the briefing explores the challenges that the extractive sector is facing in countries that are water stressed. In this publication the focus is on Australia, Brazil, Canada, China and South Africa. Every country chapter has case studies that detail challenges and potential solutions in practice.

Risk indicators are provided at the end of the publication to allow banks, investors and others to use these in dealing with their clients in this sector.

View the publication here.

2013 Global Roundtable in Beijing, China

The 2013 GRT will be held under the theme "Financing the Future We Want: Sustainable Finance in China, Emerging Market and World Economy".

Held in the wake of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), and amidst multiple efforts to mobilize and scale up green finance, the 2013 Roundtable will further be marked by a context of deepening shifts in the global balance of political , economical and financial power.

As such the event will seek to raise the level and profile of the sustainable finance agenda, and to bring to fore the richness and diversity of approaches and nuances that now characterizes this same agenda, from China to further emerging economies and across the global economy.

In this context and following its 20th birthday, UNEP FI will, on the occasion of the 2013 Global Roundtable, launch the very first report on the status of sustainable finance, to be delivered thereafter on a regular basis as a new flagship product. 

More information here.

Photo: Wikitravel

This is the first time that UNEP FI is convening an introductory workshop on Environmental and Social Risk Analysis in the Middle Eastern region. The workshop will be held in Muscat, Oman, on 15th and 16th January and is co-organized by UNEP FI's local member Bank Muscat.

The aim of this workshop is to sensitize bankers, risk managers and other relevant parties across the financial sector in the region on the importance, effective techniques and consequential benefits of incorporating environmental and social considerations into their investment and risk management decision-making.

The dates for the Online Courses have recently been chosen for 2013

The course is a product of UNEP FI, the INCAE Business School through the Ecobanking Project and GIZ.

Upcoming Courses in 2013: 

More information here.

In the event that you are interested in taking the course, we strongly advise you to fill in the online registration form as places are limited.

Creating the New 'Normal'

A discussion paper seeking to inform the development of a global strategy on the financing of sustainable development in the wake of Rio+20 

Responsible Property Investment - What the leaders are doing

A collection of case studies of leading property investors applying RPI principles within their decision-making