Publications

In the face of geopolitical shifts, not least those driven by the second Trump administration, the EU needs to secure its own green industrial base and foster new alliances. The European Commission’ proposal for a Clean Industrial Deal, central to its new competitiveness agenda, needs to spell out how Europe will create the enabling conditions […]

Next week, representatives of public development banks and their stakeholders will gather in Cape Town for the 5th Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), to discuss how public development banks can align all their activities with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, and the Global Biodiversity Framework. As the global network of public development banks, Finance in Common represents about 10% of total global development investments each year, which must all align with sustainable development pathways. This year, the discussions at FiCS will take place while South Africa hosts the first meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, with a focus on solidarity, equality, and sustainability.

2025 is a pivotal year for the interlocking global agendas of climate and sustainable development, highlighted by major convenings such as the 5th Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), the G20 Summit under South Africa’s presidency, and the UNFCCC COP30. Public development banks (PDBs) will feature prominently across these events, given their integral role in implementing these critical agendas through financial support and stakeholder mobilization.

Frequently asked questions on the development and implementation of carbon pricing policies. This work aims to provide a carefully curated companion tool for jurisdictions considering or developing a carbon pricing instrument, with questions and answers (Q&A) focused on opportunities they can bring, specific challenges and policy choices pertaining to the design and implementation of carbon taxation and emission trading systems in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDES).

While several North American banks exit the voluntary NZBA (Net Zero Banking Alliance), European banks must bolster their climate risk frameworks. The European Banking Authority’s (EBA) recently published guidelines on ESG risk management offer a beacon of hope amidst the turmoil that currently surrounds the EU’s sustainable finance regulations. These guidelines are encouraging in both substance and form, reflecting prudential supervisors’ commitment to aligning the banking sector with the bloc’s climate and sustainability goals.

The EU Competitiveness Compass has made connecting decarbonisation and competitiveness a “strategic imperative” for Europe. This will be delivered by the all-important Clean Industrial Deal – the flagship policy package on which this new Commission hopes to upgrade Europe’s industrial base and tackle the climate crisis simultaneously.

As Donald Trump kicks off another presidential mandate in the US, there is no turning away from the EU’s major challenges of competitiveness, energy security and decarbonising the economy. With a new European Commission in place since December 2024, the roll out of initiatives addressing those challenges can begin. Whilst a lot of focus goes […]

2025 begins with a new French government and a new budget debate, but with the same challenge as last year: how to reduce the deficit without putting the brakes on investment in the climate transition? Climate investments are the best investments we can make, according to the new Minister of Economy Éric Lombard. He's right: any delay weakens our energy security and our position in the international race for cleantech, not to mention the pace of decarbonisation of our economy.

Methodologies for target-setting and climate alignment assessment: Current status and future prospects for taking further account of nature and resilience. Economic players must face climate change and sustainability issues by transforming economic models, while strengthening their competitiveness and resilience.

Sectoral climate change mitigation scenarios for strategy development and alignment assessment by economic players: Current status and future prospects for taking further account of nature and resilience All sectors face growing pressures to transform their business models, while strengthening their competitiveness and resilience, in response to sustainability issues and multiple uncertainties:   2024 is the […]

Translating innovation into world-leading industries is critical, and FP10, the EU’s next flagship R&D funding programme after Horizon Europe concludes, offers a chance to bridge this gap. The Green Deal era saw Europe embrace 'Cleantech 2.0', with record investments and new projects. Yet 2024 has brought a reckoning. Slowing demand in sectors like heat pumps and electric cars, Chinese industrial overcapacity, and attractive subsidies in the US and Canada have left European cleantech struggling to compete. Closures, layoffs, and stalled projects - including the high-profile collapse of Swedish battery maker Northvolt - have shaken the sector. The EU’s Net Zero Industry Act and the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal aim to support cleantech manufacturing, but catching up isn’t enough. To lead globally, the EU must focus on the next wave, including new battery chemistries and next-gen renewables - 'Cleantech 3.0.'

As the European economy decarbonizes, economic assets across sectors are at risk of stranding or repricing from transition pressures. Yet private financial institutions, particularly banks, often narrowly focus on fossil fuel credit losses using historical data, underestimating broader ‘whole of economy’ stranding risks. Risk mitigation in the form of prudential capital buffers and loss provisions […]

The COP29 in Baku was supposed to breathe new life into North-South climate cooperation through the negotiation of the new NCQG financing target. Instead, confrontational negotiations produced a half-hearted agreement, and the onerous task of charting a path to bridge the resource gap before the next COP.

The urgency of climate action is becoming ever more apparent, yet we remain far from securing the level of financing required for meaningful progress. The first Global Stocktake underscored a widening gap between the needs of developing countries and the support they receive, while advanced economies also struggle to finance their own ambitious climate targets.

To tackle the challenges of competitiveness and well-being of future generations, Europe needs to accelerate the climate transition. This will require sizable investment, both public and private. National governments must thus embrace and the EU must facilitate investments in climate transition. As the next European Commission prepares to take office, the challenges facing the College are stark. The recent report by Mario Draghi makes clear that there is an urgent need to invest in European competitiveness and innovation, while accelerating the decarbonization of the continent's economy, to avoid a “slow agony of decline” for the block.

This coming Monday will see the start of COP29 – formally the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in Baku, Azerbaijan. The edition is nicknamed “the finance COP” and is important on more than one account, not least as Trump's victory likely leads to a change of course for the US on climate commitment. The volume and structure of the finance mobilised to support developing countries to transition to low-emission and climate-resilient economies tops the agenda.

The ecological transition can only happen if all households have access to solutions – public transport, electric vehicles, home insulation, heating upgrades, etc. The issue of the access to transition solutions is therefore crucial for climate policies. Special attention should be paid to low- and middle-income households, as the necessary investments may not be sustainable for them. 

The implementation of the new banking package (or Capital Requirements Directive package) that adopts the final parts of the international Basel 3 financial regulation is underway in the European Union. The European Banking Authority (EBA) along with the other European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) is mandated to develop technical standards that provide the framework to help financial institutions comply with the new regulatory rules. Key among these standards is the novel guidance on ESG risks which is expected to be finalised by the EBA in the coming months. This is an opportune moment to address weaknesses in banks’ risk management practices, particularly regarding the underestimation of stranded asset risks, a missing angle in current policy debates.  

The European Commission is due to deliver a Vision for Agriculture and Food, within the first 100 days of its new mandate. Feeding into this work, the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture (SDFA) published its report “A shared prospect for farming and food in Europe" in September. The spending under the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and its alignment with the climate goals agreed at the EU level will be central to the next steps.  

Putting Agricultural Risk Management on the Agenda  In recent years agriculture has been hit by numerous crisis in France: adverse climatic events (primarily droughts, floods, and frost) and health crisis (notably avian flu), directly impacting agricultural production. Broader crisis, such as COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have also indirectly but significantly affected the agricultural sector. Climate change, the ongoing Ukraine conflict, and overall geopolitical tensions suggest that these crisis and their impacts will become a lasting pattern in the future. These are crucial factors to consider when defining and strengthening food sovereignty.