The European Commission clarifies that the EU sustainable finance framework and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive apply neutrally to the defence sector. Defence investments are permitted, assessed case by case, with disclosure and due diligence obligations focused on risk mitigation and exclusion limited to internationally prohibited weapons.

This briefing examines human rights risks from AI-based technologies in the ICT sector, outlines business, legal, and financial implications, and provides investor-oriented guidance grounded in international standards to support rights-respecting AI development, deployment, and oversight.

Bpifrance’s European Defence Bond Framework defines principles for issuing use-of-proceeds bonds financing eligible defence-sector projects, mainly SMEs, to support European sovereignty. It details eligibility criteria, exclusions, ESG safeguards, governance, reporting, and proceeds management, while stating the bonds are not ICMA-aligned sustainable instruments.

The TNFD roadmap outlines actions to improve market access to decision-useful nature-related data. It proposes data principles, pilot testing and a potential Nature Data Public Facility to address data quality, comparability, cost and accessibility for corporate reporting, target setting and transition planning.

The study shows only transformative sustainability initiatives predict higher future profitability and generate positive abnormal stock returns. Advocacy, preparation and standard ESG ratings do not. Markets initially mispriced transformative actions, but learning gradually eliminated the alpha by 2022.

The report reviews recent evidence on links between sustainability performance and company valuation, finding growing but uneven market recognition. Strong strategies can improve resilience, EBITDA and capital costs, while inaction raises long-term financial risk amid evolving disclosure and regulation.

The report analyses climate disclosures by investor-owned carbon majors, finding widespread misuse of climate scenarios to claim Paris alignment. Common issues include outdated scenarios, opaque assumptions and misleading aggregation, which obscure transition risks and may misinform investor decision-making.

The report examines how climate-related data are used in investment decision-making, highlighting limitations in availability, consistency, and comparability. It reviews greenhouse gas metrics, evolving global disclosure standards, and regulatory milestones, and outlines practical strategies for investors managing imperfect climate data.

The study analyses sustainability reports from major listed companies to assess alignment with Paris climate targets. Using natural language processing, it finds alignment depends on the type of actions taken. Firms prioritising innovation and energy transition outperform those focused on risk mitigation.

This supplement outlines a framework for classifying financial products by sustainability objectives under MiFID II. It defines ESG target markets, minimum exclusions, PAIs, and alignment with SFDR and Taxonomy rules across securities, funds, bonds, and certificates.

ICMA’s June 2025 Guidance Handbook clarifies practical application of Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles, covering use of proceeds, governance, reporting, verification and market issues. It supports consistent labelling, transparency and market integrity across sustainable debt instruments.

Exponential Roadmap Initiative (ERI) is a global, mission-driven organisation accelerating science-aligned climate action. It works with companies, investors and partners to scale climate solutions, assess climate performance, and support pathways to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 through practical frameworks and collaborative initiatives across business, finance and policy contexts.

The article argues that while climate disclosure and green finance initiatives have expanded since Mark Carney’s “tragedy of the horizon” speech, they have failed to shift capital at the scale required to address climate and nature risks. It contends that deeper structural reforms to financial valuation, incentives and capital allocation are needed to move beyond managing symptoms toward financing real-world solutions.

This guide explains Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive physical risk requirements, detailing scope, timelines and ESRS E1 disclosures. It outlines how organisations must identify, assess and report climate-related physical risks, financial impacts and adaptation actions, with a focused application to real estate portfolios.

CFA Institute Research and Policy Center (RPC) is a finance research hub turning investment research into insights that strengthen capital markets, advance ethics and improve investor outcomes. RPC publishes policy analysis, research reports and industry perspectives for investment professionals, regulators and policymakers, grounded in CFA Institute expertise and market trends.

This month’s sustainable finance roundup traces the shift from ambition to enforcement, as climate and nature risks become financial, regulatory and legal realities. It covers Australia’s environmental law reforms, the embedding of climate and nature risk through prudential supervision, disclosure and shareholder pressure, and insurer warnings on the limits of insurability. It also highlights how markets are responding to deforestation and biodiversity risk, and how litigation and regulation are reshaping governance and long-term financial resilience.