This benchmark report, produced by the United Nations Environment Programme, assesses the discrepancy between projected and necessary global greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris Agreement targets. It highlights the urgent need for enhanced mitigation actions and tracks progress on national commitments and policy implementations.

The study investigates how beliefs shape investor preferences for sustainable investments. Using incentivised survey methods, it finds that investors’ expectations of financial returns are higher for ESG-rated funds when aware of their ESG rating. This study highlights the biases in unincentivised surveys and the complex motivations driving socially responsible investments, suggesting that incentivised methods may better capture true investor beliefs about ESG fund performance.

The report explores how fiscal policy can mobilise private sector finance for sustainable development in Asia-Pacific. It emphasises green guarantees, subsidies, and roadmaps, showcasing ASEAN+3 successes in aligning fiscal policy with climate action to attract private investment and encourage sustainable economic activities.

This report highlights the need to scale private investment in climate adaptation to mitigate capital flight from vulnerable areas. It outlines barriers like resilience valuation and fiduciary concerns, and recommends actions for governments and investors to facilitate resilience innovation, regulatory support, and shared understanding of physical risks, ensuring long-term economic stability and community protection.

This report explores the appropriate discount rate for sustainability investments, advocating for a lower social discount rate for natural and social capital compared to financial capital. By applying this lower rate, companies could be incentivised to prioritise long-term investments in sustainability, ultimately supporting a balanced financial, social, and environmental value approach.

This report outlines how corporate impact investing bridges business goals with positive social and environmental impact. It presents various corporate approaches, explores synergies with internal teams, and identifies strategic benefits, including scaling innovation, aligning with corporate purpose, and accessing new markets. Practical steps guide companies in structuring, engaging stakeholders, and initiating investments for maximum impact.

This report surveys 509 equity portfolio managers on how they integrate environmental and social (ES) factors into investment decisions. Over 75% of respondents, including traditional investors, use ES factors, driven primarily by financial motivations. Constraints such as fund mandates influence these decisions, but most managers avoid sacrificing financial returns for ES performance.

The report discusses emissions attribution analysis for net-zero investment portfolios. It highlights key decarbonisation drivers, including portfolio reallocation, real-world emissions reductions, and changes in data coverage. The analysis helps financial professionals understand and steer investment strategies toward decarbonisation, aligning with climate goals set by the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance.

The report discusses how concessional finance can accelerate the deployment of offshore wind (OSW) in developing nations. It analyses OSW's potential as a renewable energy source and highlights two key strategies for enhancing concessional finance. The report also explores the challenges of financing OSW projects, particularly in developing countries, and recommends technical assistance, regulatory support, and blended finance solutions to facilitate investment in OSW.

This study examines whether green investing reduces political support for climate regulation. Using a pre-registered experiment involving a real referendum in Switzerland, the findings suggest that climate-conscious investments do not erode support for climate policies. The study provides evidence that sustainable investing and political engagement are complementary, not substitutes.

This report explores how financial institutions can drive sustainability in ocean-linked sectors, focusing on coastal infrastructure and waste management. It highlights sustainable financing principles, encouraging banks, insurers, and investors to mitigate environmental risks and support nature-based solutions for climate resilience, biodiversity, and economic prosperity in the blue economy.

Examining the interplay between financial systems and ecological thresholds, this research identifies pivotal financial flows linked to land use changes in the Brazilian Amazon and Indonesian peatlands. It proposes targeted interventions to steer these investments towards sustainable practices, emphasising the need for global policy alignment to mitigate the systemic risks posed by ecosystem tipping points.

This report assesses the barriers and opportunities for scaling private sector investment in natural capital. It outlines key recommendations, including the establishment of a Nature Finance Accelerator, to drive financial flows towards nature. The study highlights the importance of overcoming low returns, small deal sizes, and high transaction costs to attract private investment.

This report highlights the essential role of nature in supporting the global economy, underscoring the insurance sector's crucial function in managing financial and economic risks linked to nature loss. This encompasses integrating nature-related considerations into underwriting and investment activities and advancing nature-positive insurance practices.

This report examines the relationship between sustainable agricultural practices and non-financial support in impact investments, highlighting how such support can enhance performance. Findings reveal that non-financial support improves outcomes for smallholder farmers, especially women, by increasing service provision and adoption of sustainable farming, contributing to resilience and profitability.

This report investigates whether green investors influence corporate carbon emissions by either divesting from polluters or engaging with management through stock ownership. The findings suggest green investors significantly reduce emissions through active engagement, whereas divestment strategies may counterproductively increase emissions. The report highlights private markets’ potential to address environmental issues independently of government regulation.