Ahren Lester

Mitigation needs work for COP30 after 'basically no outcome' at COP29

After a 'mitigation-lite' COP29 event, the Swedish COP negotiator said the next climate summit needs to focus on getting a "clear mechanism" in place to deliver the ground-breaking deal to transition away from fossil fuels agreed at COP28.

SLBs linked to donations or carbon credit investments are 'promising'

Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) which use the financial penalties for missing targets to make donations or purchase carbon credits should be looked at more closely by the market,...

EU sustainability 'omnibus' regulations 'like a bad omelette'

The EU plans to combine a trio of major sustainable finance-related disclosure rules into a combined 'omnibus' regulation risks just consolidating rather than correcting problems with the existing regulations, a senior sustainable finance executive in Asia told Environmental Finance.

Bahamas signs 'ground-breaking' $300m debt-for-nature loan deal

The Bahamas has signed a $300 million loan with Standard Chartered as part of a ground-breaking marine conservation-focused debt conversion transaction developed with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Debt-for-nature deals are 'growing very rapidly and are very scalable'

The nature financing gap remains concerningly wide, but the increasingly active debt-for-nature market offers hope that the tide is turning. Ahren Lester reports

Artesian: Two-way coupons could 'reignite' SLB market

Opening the door to SLB issuers being rewarded for outperforming ambitious targets could boost issuance, Artesian's David Gallagher tells Ahren Lester.

'Very encouraging' European 'light green' fund investment in Middle East

There is a "very encouraging" level of investment from 'light green' European funds in Middle Eastern real estate firms which suggests emerging positive sustainability disclosure trends in the region, according to Emirates NBD.

COP29: €3bn public-private fundraise planned for emerging market green bond fund

The EU-led Global Green Bond Initiative (GGBI) is preparing to raise €3 billion ($3.2 billion) for a fund which will serve as an "anchor investor" in emerging market (EM) green bonds, the European Investment Bank (EIB) told a side event at the UN COP29 climate summit.

Final 'Sustainable Development Impact Disclosure' guidance published

CDP, GRI 'strengthen' environmental disclosure 'streamlining' collaboration