Investors must understand the limits of regulatory efforts to measure climate stress at banks.

Gustavo Montezano has been president of BNDES since July 2019. He is on a mission to get Brazil’s state development bank to adapt to the new financial reality of ESG. How the resultant tensions play out will be crucial to the development of Brazil and the world.

Sustainable finance and renewable energy are becoming more important for the French firm, as it reduces its emphasis on equity derivatives.

Can multilateral development banks fight climate change while still promoting economic development in emerging markets? The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the first to set out concrete plans on how to do this.

China faces tough choices in the months ahead. Make the right decisions and it can become the global leader in ESG, a country determined to shed its industrial past and embrace a cleaner, greener future.

Australia is not the first country that comes to mind with regards to climate action. But away from the political rhetoric, the exceptionally powerful superannuation funds and corporates are pushing change. The key is an acceptance that in Australia it’s all about transition.

Brazil’s central bank attempts to redress the country’s woeful environmental reputation with climate-related stress tests.

One of the stars of Estonia’s post-Soviet generation, André Küüsvek, talks to Euromoney about escaping lockdown in Kazakhstan, expanding the NIB’s environmental remit and the risks posed by rising inequality.

A new analysis of European banks by ShareAction finds that while some firms distinguish themselves in some climate and biodiversity practices, the overall picture is of a sector that still has much work to do.

The IFC’s Latin America head sees local capital markets growth as key to financing sustainability.

Many are still a long way from understanding the risk climate change poses to their businesses.

China’s lenders are keen to go green, as Ping An Bank chairman Xie Yonglin tells Euromoney. Regulators want that, too – but embracing ESG in a country still in thrall to dirty industry is easier said than done.

The bond market’s hottest structure has come under fire from a leading ESG investor, with borrowers accused of gaming the system to take advantage of demand for sustainable products.

Two years ago, Barclays began to build a dedicated sustainable investment banking coverage group. Aimed at emerging growth companies, as well as the bank’s mature large cap clients, it’s a big element of a wider collaboration effort at Barclays.

The two banks plus Singapore’s stock exchange and sovereign wealth vehicle believe they have the collective strength and skills to build Climate Impact X, based initially on southeast Asian forestry and mangrove projects.

Years of tough but successful IMF-led reforms have put Egypt in a great place to rebound strongly from Covid. Its future will be shaped by big infrastructure projects and by a plan to transform the nation into a powerhouse of green finance.

Banks are refining their sustainable cash-management offerings, seeking to align their corporate sustainability strategies to financing and treasury actions.

Biodiversity loss now competes with climate change as the principal challenge for sustainable finance. What does it actually mean for banks and asset managers and what can the private sector do to restore the balance of nature?

ESG investors want to see evidence that their money is making a difference. It could be putting a dampener on banks’ appetite for issuing social bonds.

It has the backing of Prince Charles, as well as several big names in banking – but will the Financial Services Taskforce contribute anything new to the fight against climate change?

East Capital co-founder Karine Hirn began her investing career in Russia in the 1990s before moving to China to head up the firm’s Asian expansion. She discusses the challenges of the Chinese market, why eastern Europe has the edge on corporate boards and why governance is key to ESG.

Brazil should be well placed to benefit from renewed interest in forestry projects, but the country’s restrictive land laws could lead foreign investment to flow elsewhere.

The US president’s prompt action in rejoining the Paris Agreement has given encouragement to environmentalists at home and abroad. What should be next on his green hit list?

Asset managers and owners are scrutinizing firms’ climate commitments like never before, as HSBC is discovering.

UK bank urged to set timeline for fossil-fuel financing phase-out.

From Covid relief funds to the COP26 climate summit, sustainability is expected to dominate the global agenda this year as never before.

The Swiss asset and wealth manager’s Natural Capital fund, launched on Monday, is a first of its kind in the public equity markets.

The Covid pandemic and racial injustice protests have thrust social investing into the spotlight this year. However, using this to achieve long-term change on the ground will be a tough job.

The finance sector has woken up to its impact and dependence on nature. So, it needs to prioritize the development of investable projects.

Across every sector and region HSBC stands out for its commitment to developing partnerships and products that will bring finance at scale to create a more sustainable and resilient planet.