Reports published at COP27 suggest slow but steady progress by banks on interim sector targets for net zero. But political reality, particularly in the US, requires a delicate approach.

Bank’s ESG head urges competitors and regulators to respond more quickly to emissions accounting challenge.

New opportunities in oil and gas as supply is reoriented away from Russia highlight the question of how quickly cuts to financed emissions will match banks’ enthusiasm for growth in clean energy.

Climate-smart innovations and regenerative agriculture are attracting tech-savvy equity investors to the farming sector. Access to affordable financing will determine how fast those companies can grow to scale and provide an exit.

As the private sector demands more guidelines, COP27 should promote the development of a global framework on innovative finance.

European banks have raced far ahead of their US peers on sustainability. But the continent is now facing an energy emergency, creating pressure from some corners to reverse investment declines in oil and gas. Can Europe’s banks remain frontrunners in sustainable finance in today’s fragile geopolitical environment?

Boutique investment bank DAI Magister suggests donor funds could catalyse private equity and debt investment in climate tech, the big theme of COP27.

Carbon credit traders want to secure the integrity of the voluntary carbon market while encouraging speculative trading that could fix its liquidity problem.

Demand for carbon offsetting credits on the VCM has intensified as corporates look for solutions to reach net zero. But as more and more institutions look to tap this market, can the existing infrastructure cope?

Regulators want to prevent greenwashing; corporates need to abide by the rules. What happens when science doesn’t help?

New deal adds two-year payment deferral to existing natural-disaster clause to mitigate impact of a future pandemic.

Fossil fuel assets were set to become obsolete in the transition to net zero. But the war in Ukraine is forcing European governments to secure alternative energy sources and driving demand for coal, oil and gas back in the wrong direction. With the global energy transition seemingly pitched against national energy security agendas, banks are trying to navigate a difficult path through the turmoil.

The Netherlands wants biodiversity to be at the forefront of agricultural reform. But the government’s plan to buy out livestock farmers – which was behind the resignation of agriculture minister Henk Staghouwer last week – is a short-sighted solution.

Anti-ESG boycotts are unlikely to cross the Atlantic.

The Singaporean bank has launched sector-specific decarbonization commitments it says are industry-leading. For them to be achieved, the bank’s corporate client base is going to need to make changes, too.

The government is prepared to take drastic measures to reduce the nitrogen produced by livestock. But as farmers resist being pushed out of a profitable sector, the dispute demonstrates the cost of turning climate agendas into a race to cut emissions as quickly as possible.

As scrutiny of the ESG sector intensifies, how can green funds provide the kind of data that the regulators are starting to demand?

A US climate bill filled with green credits will create business for banks and provide relief from the backlash against ESG products.

A just transition should protect smaller firms from paying the price for the carbon emissions of larger ones.

Wealth managers are keen to engage with clients on biodiversity, but concerns over liquidity and access pose challenges to retail and private clients.

Companies that publicly commit to net zero by 2030 need to be held accountable for those commitments. That won’t happen until their carbon footprint becomes publicly available data.

Banks want to capitalize on the surge in green capex borrowing as corporates rush to decarbonize. Cost inflation has increased the risks involved but not the long-term benefit of carbon reduction.

Latest iteration of the nature-related reporting framework tackles tension between demand for clear and simple methodology applicable to business models and the complexity of the science.

The banking industry has become frustrated by slow regulatory progress as it waits for necessary standardization of climate risk assessments and disclosure policies to meet net-zero targets.

Lombard Odier joins Barclays and Nomura in hoping to grow partnerships and shareholdings in a market that is heavily banked but underpinned by a vast institutional bid and a belated surge towards sustainability.

HSBC Asset Management’s head of responsible investing has had it up to here with consultants and regulators lecturing him on climate change risk.

Asset managers and index providers are the focus of a backlash against ESG. Banks will face their own reputational roasting as demand for fossil-fuel financing rebounds.

Credit intelligence specialist OakNorth is working with a consortium of US banks to assess physical and transition climate risk in loan portfolios. The motivation for the banks is clear: self-preservation in the face of growing climate-related disruption.

China’s approach to ESG is a jumble of grandiose and contradictory state planning alongside often marvellously successful bottom-up plans by banks and fintechs to instil in consumers a more sustainable lifestyle.

Where do the borders of ESG lie – now and in the future? Investors from the US to China are revisiting these questions and finding thorny and often unpalatable answers, even as they dump Russian assets for ethical reasons. The results are set to shape the financial world’s relationship with sustainability for years to come.