UNEP says greening of global financial system has accelerated

The greening of global financial markets has reached a new milestone thanks to enactment of a raft of policy and regulatory incentives by governments, said a UNEP report received on Saturday.

According to the second edition of The Financial System We Need, the global momentum to green capital markets, banks and sovereign wealth funds has gathered steam.

The report said that 60 countries across the globe have already enacted 217 policy and regulatory measures to promote sustainable finance.

UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim said multilateral institutions are committed to help governments and businesses implement measures that would advance greening of the financial sector.

Solheim said recommendations were being put forward to accelerate the conversion of the financial system's assets held by banks, capital markets and institutional investors into sustainable financial flows, Solheim said.

Both the developed and emerging economies have prioritized greening of the financial markets.

The UNEP report disclosed that issuance of green bonds hit 51.4 billion U.S. dollars this year, up from 41.8 billion dollars in 2015.

It added that greening of the global financial markets covered a new ground this year thanks to renewed political commitment by developed and emerging economies like China.

The UNEP report singled out China for its pragmatic choices that have injected fresh impetus in attempts to promote green finance.

China in August issued a raft of guidelines to revitalize greening of the financial markets.

At the same time, the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, and other financial regulators recently outlined green bond guidelines that have helped to drive 13.9 billion dollars in issuance in 2016.

The UNEP report noted that China has committed itself to raise 1.5 trillion dollars for financing green projects up to the year 2020 while the private sector will contribute 85 percent of that amount.

Source : XINHUA