Library | Sustainable Finance Practices

Fixing financial and economic systems

Resources focused on transforming financial and economic systems to prioritise human well-being, equity, and environmental sustainability. Includes systemic change models such as degrowth, green growth, doughnut economics, and limits to growth.

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SUSREG annual report series

World Wide Fund for Nature (World Wildlife Fund – WWF)
This benchmark series provides a comprehensive assessment of sustainable financial regulations and central banking activities. It tracks progress across global jurisdictions in integrating climate, environmental, and social risks within banking, insurance, and capital markets sectors, supporting the transition towards a net-zero and nature-positive global economy.
Benchmark/series
9 December 2025

Guarantees: From misdiagnosis to strategic deployment: Evidence from expert practitioner interviews

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
This research examines why climate-aligned guarantees often fail to mobilise private capital effectively. It identifies structural misalignments within multilateral development banks and suggests that strategic deployment requires a move towards portfolio-based approaches, local-currency financing, and better risk layering to address specific investment constraints in emerging markets.
Research
28 May 2026

The Paris Agreement ten years later: Navigating climate uncertainty and tipping points

European Central Bank (ECB)
This research evaluates the Paris Agreement ten years on, highlighting critical implementation and ambition gaps. It identifies a triple-track crisis involving geophysical inertia, cognitive barriers, and policy lags. The report proposes a precautionary paradigm using technological and financial levers to navigate climate uncertainty and prevent irreversible tipping points.
Research
4 July 2016

How certain can we be about NGFS Climate Scenarios?

This research analyses uncertainty in Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) climate scenarios across four vintages and 254 variables. It finds that revisions to initial conditions and model recalibration often exceed scenario and model uncertainty, requiring cautious interpretation in financial risk assessments.
Research
9 July 2026

Industrial policies for multi-stage production: The battle for battery-powered vehicles

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
This research analyses industrial policies for the multi-stage electric vehicle supply chain. It evaluates consumer subsidies and local content requirements, finding that while protectionist measures expand domestic production, they can significantly increase costs and reduce overall adoption compared to unconditional subsidies that maximise scale economies.
Research
12 February 2026

Why shareholder-driven corporate social responsibility failed

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)
This report analyses why shareholder-led corporate social responsibility failed in the early 2020s. It argues that political forces blocking government regulation also dismantle private CSR initiatives. Using the BlackRock-Texas conflict as evidence, it concludes that direct political action is the only viable path for systemic change.
Research
21 May 2026

A novel multilevel conceptual framework for flood risk governance

This research introduces a multilevel framework integrating flood hazard modelling, social vulnerability assessments, and risk communication. Designed for data-scarce environments, it addresses analytical silos by treating communication as a coequal component. The framework supports equitable decision-making through consequence-oriented risk surfaces and transparent uncertainty representation for municipal planning.
Research
27 April 2026

Artificial intelligence and sustainability transitions: Emergent opportunities, risks, and governance

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
This report examines the intersection of artificial intelligence and sustainability transitions, detailing opportunities and risks across environment, energy, labour, finance, and democracy. It proposes a three-layered governance framework and a phased roadmap for global scientific alignment, interim safety measures, and a binding international framework convention to ensure societal well-being.
Research
28 March 2026

The commoditization of labor

This research examines how technological standardisation commoditises labour by making workers interchangeable. It develops a model showing that while this process increases productivity, it simultaneously reduces worker bargaining power and wages. This framework explains the declining large-firm wage premium and the divergence between productivity and pay in services.
Research
24 May 2026

Mainstreaming just transition finance: Lessons from emerging best practice

Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
This report examines the integration of just transition principles into private finance. It highlights structural barriers, including the lack of robust business cases and quantifiable evidence. Recommendations include embedding just transition into existing regulatory frameworks, strengthening the evidence base for commercial benefits, and aligning private incentives with national commitments.
Research
30 June 2026

Financial Innovation Knowledge Platform

Climate Policy Initiative
CPI's platform offering practical tools, research, and guidance for public and private actors developing and investing in climate finance vehicles.
Resource hub

Ocean investment protocol: 2026 revised draft for consultation: A multi-stakeholder plan to enable funding for the Sustainable Ocean Economy

United Nations Global Compact
This report provides a framework for scaling finance towards a sustainable ocean economy. It outlines recommendations for financial institutions, insurers, governments, and central banks to manage risks and capture opportunities. The protocol aims to mobilise the US$1 trillion required by 2030 to protect marine ecosystems and ensure prosperity.
Research
18 June 2026

The silence of the loans: Banks should adopt methane policies that cover financing and facilitating emissions

Planet Tracker
Planet Tracker examines twenty-five banks' policies regarding agricultural methane emissions. Despite methane's high potency, no banks have specific reduction targets for this sector. Most policies focus solely on direct financing, ignoring facilitated debt which constitutes 96% of corporate funding, creating significant financial and regulatory risks for lenders.
Research
15 April 2026

Mapping the landscape of net-zero nature-positive finance: A review of definitions and frameworks

Climate Policy Initiative
This report provides a comprehensive review of definitions and frameworks for net-zero, nature-positive, and climate-nature finance. It identifies alignment areas and implementation gaps, advocating for integrated risk and investment approaches to achieve global sustainability goals under the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Research
15 July 2026

Connecting capital within African agrifood systems: Lessons from a decade of practice

Climate Policy Initiative
This report examines the structural misalignment between investors and agribusinesses in African agrifood systems. It highlights that while annual climate finance reached USD 7.8 billion, it falls short of the USD 1.1 trillion global requirement. Recommendations focus on improving technical assistance and intermediation to mobilise capital effectively.
Research
17 June 2026

Toward transformation in finance: Seeds of nature-positive futures

This research examines "finance for nature seeds" — innovative initiatives aimed at transforming the financial sector to reverse nature loss. By analysing 92 global projects, the study identifies diverse approaches to funding nature stewardship, highlighting current reliance on market-based mechanisms and the potential for inclusive, value-pluralistic financial systems.
Research
10 April 2026
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