Nearly 400 Policy and Regulatory Measures Mapped in New Green Finance Measures Database

GGKP News
Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

PRESS RELEASE - Madrid, 13 December 2019: Measures backing green finance more than doubled since 2015, UN figures show

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The Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) and the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System (“the Inquiry”) have launched the Green Finance Measures Database – a library of policy and regulatory measures across 60 developed and developing countries that support the development of green finance.

The database is comprised of policy and regulatory measures implemented by public authorities, including governments, central banks, financial regulators and public financial institutions. Such measures include legislation, sectoral and system-level regulations, supervisory frameworks, fiscal support mechanisms, market codes and standards, guidance, guidelines, consultations, and other activities, such as research assessments. Measures include new frameworks to support market development (e.g. green bond guidelines), fiscal incentives (e.g. preferential refinancing) for investments in green assets, as well as measures to strengthen environmental risk management practices within institutions, for instance, through the introduction of climate change risks into supervisory frameworks.

As of December 2019, the database counts 391 national and sub-national policy and regulatory measures in place. There has been a significant expansion in such measures in recent years, with more than a doubling of number of measures implemented over the last five years. In 2019 alone, nearly 80 new measures were implemented or announced between January and October.

Nearly half (47%) of the measures implemented to date are focused exclusively on the investment sector, with banking and insurance roughly even at approximately 14% each. Measures implemented across more than one asset class – for instance, system-level roadmaps and strategies – account for approximately one quarter of all measures.

In 2019, capital reallocation & raising became the most represented measures with 27% of all measures implemented. Reporting & disclosure still remain an important focus area for policy & regulatory action, comprising over 25% of all measures.

With an estimated €6.2 trillion of investment required by 2030 to limit global warning to 2 degrees, these measures help clarify the responsibilities of financial institutions with respect to environmental factors within capital markets, such as clarifying the relevance of ESG issues within the context of fiduciary duties of pension funds, and strengthen flows of information relating to environmental factors within the financial system, for instance requirements for public disclosure of climate-related risks to investment portfolios.

This database is a unique resource, in that it contains policy and regulatory measures relating to green finance across different asset classes (e.g. banking, investment and insurance), as well as system-level initiatives. This goes beyond other previous databases which focus on a specific issue area (e.g. climate change), industry theme (e.g. CSR initiatives), or industry sector (e.g. investment). For instance, the Responsible Investment Policy Database developed by PRI and UNEP, which focuses on ESG-related measures in the investment sector, does not contain information relevant to banking or insurance sectors, but has a broader scope considering social and governance factors.

Explore the Green Financial Measure Database