Library | Sustainable Finance Practices
Issue/sector focused research
General research and analysis that provides deep dives and insights into specific sustainability issues or industry sectors, addressing the current status, trends, risks, and opportunities for the issue but not specifically addressing a finance or business audience.
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Pricing in resilience: The future of financial services for soil health
This research examines how agricultural finance, markets and policy are transitioning soil health from a conservation goal to a financial metric. It details five forces driving structural carbon demand and seven financial innovations, including carbon warrants and digital verification, designed to reprice risk and unlock institutional capital for regenerative agriculture.
Rethinking readiness: Enhancing the foundations for climate finance in fragile and conflict-affected situations
This report analyses climate finance readiness in fragile and conflict-affected situations. It identifies systemic barriers, including institutional instability and under-resourcing, that prevent readiness support from translating into finance. It proposes four principles to adapt readiness, advocating for a whole-of-government approach anchored in political and fiscal realities.
Unlocking textile circularity in the EU: From challenges to opportunities
This report examines barriers and enablers for scaling up textile recycling in the EU. Combining literature reviews with 20 stakeholder interviews, it identifies technological, financial, and regulatory constraints. Recommendations include supporting demand-side measures, funding sorting technology research, and strengthening value chain collaboration to achieve circularity targets.
Generative debunking of climate misinformation
This research introduces 'generative debunking' using large language models to combat climate misinformation. By synthesising psychological best practices with computational tools, the study develops three models using the 'truth sandwich' approach. Expert evaluation indicates that structured prompting and retrieval-augmented generation significantly improve the identification and explanation of logical fallacies.
Public procurement and AI governance: Developing a strategic framework for middle powers
This report evaluates how 'AI middle powers' can use public procurement as a strategic governance tool to mitigate risks from foreign-led frontier AI. It proposes a framework of contractual guarantees and recommends international coordination to increase bargaining leverage, enhance visibility, and secure data sovereignty against technological dependencies.
Measuring what matters: A practical framework to integrate health into urban climate action
This report introduces a practical framework for integrating health co-benefits into urban climate monitoring. It details a five-step process for selecting robust indicators across air pollution, active travel, and sustainable diets. The framework helps cities justify climate policies, enhance accountability, and strengthen public support through evidence-based decision-making.
Leveraging co-creation for city-level climate action and health co-benefits: Policy lessons from citiES 2030
This report explores how evidence-informed co-creation supports city-level climate action and health co-benefits. Using the citiES 2030 platform as a case study, it details the development of practical health indicators and provides recommendations for policymakers, cities, and researchers to strengthen urban climate governance and implementation.
Who pays for growth? Evidence from data centers and the grid
This research examines the impact of data centre expansion on US electricity prices. Findings indicate that entry between 2010 and 2024 increased average retail rates by 2.7%. These costs are concentrated among investor-owned utilities and pronounced in deregulated markets or regions with limited spare capacity.
Cultivating investment: Resilient agriculture can pay off for food companies
Extreme weather and climate change are destabilising agricultural supply chains, eroding traditional risk-management effectiveness. This report demonstrates how investing in regenerative agriculture builds resilience, potentially safeguarding $500 million in annual profits. It provides a framework for companies and investors to mitigate financial risks and secure long-term value.
Maritime chokepoints and the global economy: Evidence from the Strait of Hormuz
This research examines the global economic consequences of maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Utilising Portwatch data, the analysis demonstrates that traffic shocks act as stagflationary forces, significantly increasing energy prices, reducing global industrial production, and tightening financial conditions through widened corporate and sovereign bond spreads.
Artificial intelligence adoption in Chinese enterprises: Productivity effects, workforce implications, and policy challenges
This research explores artificial intelligence adoption within Chinese enterprises using qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys. It identifies significant productivity gains, various organisational models, and workforce impacts, including income anxiety and skills gaps. The report highlights the human–AI collaboration paradigm and offers policy recommendations for skills development and governance.
Beyond sovereignty: Nationally led crisis response in East Africa
This report examines the transition towards nationally led crisis response in East Africa. It identifies barriers within international aid structures while highlighting progress in sub-national governance, social protection, and civil society. Recommendations focus on strengthening state accountability and equitable partnerships across Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.
Living with fire and water: Resilience financing for natural infrastructure
This report proposes a resilience-financing architecture to fund natural infrastructure. By wrapping catastrophe bonds with government credit enhancement, it creates a spread to finance landscape-scale mitigation. This mechanism aims to preserve insurability, reduce systemic climate risk, and convert unpriced contingent liabilities into structured, capped financial positions.
International credit to Africa
This research examines the rapid expansion of international credit to Africa since the Global Financial Crisis. It highlights the rise of Chinese lending under the Belt and Road Initiative, the dramatic growth of international bond issuance, and the continued dominance of governments as borrowers in US dollar-denominated markets.
Spillover effects of regulatory inspections: Evidence from OSHA
Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspections significantly reduce injuries at nearby, uninspected workplaces. An inspection reduces injuries at same-ZIP-code establishments by 11 per cent, preventing six times more injuries through spillovers than direct effects. These findings suggest conventional evaluations substantially understate the social returns to regulatory enforcement.
Analysing the EU policy mix for the built environment from a sufficiency perspective
This research assesses the integration of sufficiency principles into European Union building policies. Analysing 16 policy documents, it finds that while measures for reducing consumption and environmental sustainability are prevalent, social dimensions and behavioural changes are often neglected. It recommends prioritising building renovation over new construction to meet sustainability goals.