Klimafinanzierung

As the decade of implementation gets underway, public development banks need to follow up on their goals and statements of intent with action. The world's fastest growing development bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), plays a critical role in infrastructure investment in Asia, where the bulk of future urban development will take place. The challenges of the mega-trends of urbanization and climate change must be met with consideration for particularly vulnerable populations. To this end, this report provides a method of analysis based on seven principles to strengthen urban transformation in a sustainable and inclusive way.

Just weeks after the new coalition government took office, Germany took over the Presidency of the G7. The G7 Presidency provides the new federal government an opportunity to demonstrate the importance it attaches to international climate policy and ambitious climate protection. The coalition agreement lays out the government’s course. This briefing paper identifies issues on which the new federal government is already sending strong signals, as well as opportunities and gaps.

Last April, the European Commission published a new draft of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which is intended to provide companies with clarity on what and how they need to report and reduce administrative burden. The goal is to remove barriers and to leverage financing the transformation to climate neutrality. This briefing paper provides a brief overview of the ongoing processes around the CSRD and the standard-setting and then takes a first summarizing look at the new European corporate reporting standards.

This year’s COP results have been heavily debated. Along with the negotiations, various initiatives were launched, and these received considerable attention. Examples are an initiative to end international fossil fuel finance, a partnership with South Africa to support the country’s just transition, and a pledge to reduce methane emissions. The G7 should build on the COP’s positive dynamics and support a strategy to avoid greenwashing of the announcements, and provide alternative solutions where the COP process could not deliver.

At the second Finance in Common (FiC) Summit on 19 and 20 October 2021, 500 public development banks could jointly raise their ambitions to support sustainable development globally. The fastest growing development bank in the world, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), plays a crucial role for infrastructure investments in Asia where the majority of future infrastructure projects will take place. A framework report produced by Germanwatch and collaborating NGOs from Asia analyzes the AIIB’s opportunities to align with the Paris Agreement and suggests ten climate-resilient and pro-poor principles for more sustainable and socially inclusive infrastructure.

COP26 is often considered the most important since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015. Its context underlines the urgency: In the summer of 2021, people across the globe experienced extreme weather events and their consequences. The climate summit in Glasgow – in conjunction with the G20 summit shortly before – holds the potential to significantly accelerate climate protection efforts worldwide.

This policy brief introduces the connection and interdependencies of water, energy, and food (WEF) in Morocco. It gives advice on how to achieve socioeconomic and environmental goals through coordinated management of natural resources across sectors. A special focus lies on the role of women in the WEF nexus. Looking at the WEF challenges from a nexus perspective sheds light on the wider implications of sectoral interventions and helps to identify holistic management strategies.

Due diligence affects all companies, as it enables to properly assess relevant risks and impacts. While investors and customers show growing awareness of companies' impacts along the value chain, many companies still provide limited detail. In the sixth article of our briefing series “Full Disclosure” we examine how corporate due diligence legislation relates to sustainable finance and what questions a legislative proposal needs to answer to avoid greenwashing and support comparable due diligence.

Climate change is already a reality. At the same time, there is a gap regarding measures to manage climate risks and impacts in vulnerable developing countries. This study analyses existing and planned financial instruments and mechanisms in countries of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF). Based on six key findings, a set of conclusions on knowledge gaps and open research questions, the necessary support from the international community as well as strenghened cooperation through partnerships are presented.

Development finance institutions (DFIs) play a key role in aligning financial flows with low-emission, climate-resilient development pathways. Many have committed to support the objectives of the Paris Agreement. In this working paper Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the World Resources Institute take a closer look at financial intermediary lending by DFIs, proposing a phased approach for aligning indirect investments.