Six years after the Paris Agreement and the world is still looking for enablers to accelerate the net-zero journey. Many see trade finance instruments as the next significant step but that requires accurate and structured data, robust reporting capabilities, and streamlined processes. Key leading players in the area tell Euromoney what is changing in the world of sustainable trade finance.

In 2010, Soumya Rajan was a senior private banker at Standard Chartered in Mumbai. Then she quit to set up Waterfield Advisors, a multi-family office and wealth advisory firm which now helps Indian families manage US$4.3 billion in assets. She tells Euromoney why wealth management in India is so exciting, which factors are driving new money creation – and why so many private banks are so bad at serving women.

Javier Rodríguez Soler, BBVA’s global head of sustainability and corporate and investment banking, says an acquisition of Banco Sabadell would boost his division’s international standing. But BBVA is already eyeing a leading role in banking decarbonisation around the world, especially in the US. Partnerships with private equity companies, and investments in cleantech funds, are among the ways it is pursuing that goal.

Corporate supply chains are facing logistic, shipping and operational challenges while also under pressure from geopolitical tensions and natural disasters, as highlighted by trade leaders at the world’s leading banks in Euromoney’s Trade Finance Survey 2024.

New transition bond includes step-down, as new ‘green infrastructure’ bond issued.

Wholesale banking head Andrew Bester explains the renowned retail bank’s ambition to win new revenues building on its expertise in sustainable finance.

With corporates taking a more holistic view of sustainability, banks are under pressure to address concerns over reporting and verification requirements for sustainable working capital, trade finance and liquidity management products.

For the US to come out in support of voluntary carbon markets even while arguing for their reform is an important step in the drive to seek better standards for what are vital – albeit flawed – mechanisms. But more guidelines on how to certify and trade offsets are no substitute for the real thing.

Corporate treasurers are playing it safe when balancing the merits of exploiting improved access to capital against the risk of unexpected economic shocks and business interruption.

Some companies overhype their eco-credentials, while others hide theirs. Banks are navigating this complex landscape to capitalize on surging demand for sustainable investment.

As banks focus more on climate adaptation across their businesses, are they conceding that mitigation efforts are futile?

The standards-setter has come under fire for announcing plans to allow companies to offset Scope 3 emissions as part of net-zero targets. But this kind of compromise has always been inevitable.

The decision by the US SEC to drop mandatory Scope 3 reporting weakens global emissions reporting standards. However, many corporate issuers are already using Scope 3 performance targets on sustainability-linked transactions for non-regulatory reasons. Are the debt and equities markets leading companies onto ESG ground upon which regulators fear to tread?

Corporates seeking to leverage sustainable investment opportunities continue to be restricted by the lack of reliable data on which to base their assessments.

The UBS chief investment office’s sustainable and impact investing strategist wants to avoid measurement for the sake of measurement, but responding to client demand for more data while ensuring its readability remains a challenge.

The newest ESG trend in retail banking might be a niche offering for now, but all banks will have to take it seriously someday.

Traditional custodians are maintaining their dominance in the face of growing fintech activity in the sector.

Funded by green bonds, decarbonized assets are driving emissions upwards in other sectors that supply the necessary raw materials and shipment services. A capital markets transition label ought to factor this in.

Banks need to start quantifying the legal risks of both climate action and inaction.

Corporate and development banks want their capital to reach the smallest and most impactful of SMEs in frontier markets. Traditional credit ratings and risk assessments can get in the way.

The London Stock Exchange Group’s head of sustainable finance strategic initiatives wants climate data to redefine the act of indexing.

The World Bank is issuing ‘outcomes’ bond structures for niche sustainability themes and with new financing mechanisms. Like blue bonds, they are probably going to need some rule-setting.

Elevated inflation and interest rates have focused treasury attention on the importance of diversification, particularly for those with an environmental, social or governance focus.

A team of once-public sector bankers and officials is launching a new private equity fund that aims to identify ‘climate winners’ from the transition to a decarbonized economy. It has identified key industries but its central thesis is regulation.

A securitization of pay-as-you-go electricity bills to fund wider access to electricity in Côte d’Ivoire could spark copycat social bonds for affordable housing, telecoms, electricity access and more.

The global clubs charged with defining what pace of transition is both scientifically and politically acceptable are only as good-willed as their members.

Failure to mobilize the finance needed to meet the Paris Agreement will be devastating. As those flows to overleveraged countries and companies now stall, radical steps are needed.

The chief executive of Newton Investment Management is a forthright believer in the power of active investors to effect change at the companies they invest in, and thinks tinkering with market rules is unlikely to boost the appeal of London-listed equities.

Regulators are starting to take a more messaging-based approach to sustainable finance, but stopping greenwashing won’t automatically lead to a transition to net zero.

The 28th Conference of the Parties starts in Dubai tomorrow. Dubbed the finance COP, conflicting priorities could turn it into a fossil fuel investor roadshow.