Green Central Banking

Join us in Madrid on 30 October for the Joining the Dots in Climate Accountability and Risk conference, exploring where states, companies and markets meet. Free to attend, registration required: https://shorturl.at/LyDip

The world’s largest banks are retreating from climate action, an LSE study finds. Some are cancelling their commitments, targets and policies altogether. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/10/13/global-banks-continue-climate-retreat/

The EU should turn climate adaptation from a national responsibility into a genuine European policy, argue Simone Tagliapietra and Guntram B. Wolff of the think tank Bruegel. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/29/europes-climate-resilience-moment-has-arrived/

Accounting for climate and nature risks is a core part of central bank mandates, says the ECB’s Frank Elderson at the Bank for International Settlements' Green Swan event in Manila. https://shorturl.at/GDAbh

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will issue its fourth climate adaptation bond in 2027. Its latest was 4.6 times oversubscribed. Asia needs US$200bn+ a year for resilience but gets about US$19bn. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/17/aiib-to-issue-new-climate-adaptation-bond-in-2027/

Europe’s hottest summer on record exposed a contradiction in economic policy. The heat contributed to an estimated 35,000 excess deaths. Economists estimate that heatwaves, drought and wildfires may have cost the eurozone around €180bn, hitting crops, energy and transport. Watch to learn more.

Industry estimates suggest Syria’s off-grid solar grew from around 250MW in 2022 to more than 2GW in 2025. Without targeted support, the boom may lock in a two-tier electricity system. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/14/inside-syrias-decentralised-solar-boom/

On 30 October in Madrid, we’re partnering with the European Banking Institute and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid for a conference on climate accountability and risk. Register now: https://ebi-europa.eu/event/joint-event-joining-the-dots-in-climate-accountability-and-risk-states-companies-markets/

The World Bank and IMF are retreating from climate action under US pressure, argue Federico Sibaja and Jon Sward. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has referred to climate action at global financial institutions as driven by “elite beliefs.” https://shorturl.at/N1TJD

The ECB should address inequality alongside climate risk, a new Positive Money Europe paper argues. Decarbonisation policies can at times unevenly burden workers and regions that depend on carbon-intensive industries. https://shorturl.at/EtyM7

Financial institutions can use existing climate-risk tools to manage geopolitical risk too, argue experts from DNB and UNEP FI. Climate and geopolitical risks are interconnected, they say. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/10/01/why-sustainability-matters-for-managing-geopolitical-risks/

Did you know GCB has four newsletters? Each follows a different part of the climate-finance story: monetary and fiscal policy, Asia's move to renewables, a just transition to clean energy, and the business and finance of climate change. Subscribe here: https://shorturl.at/x0vZY

Europe is linking climate action with energy security. Debates over a fossil-fuel "transition" label, windfall taxes and carbon border levies are set to test that. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/24/eu-roundup-europes-climate-and-security-issues-now-inseparable-says-commissioner/

India's 2070 net zero goal needs an estimated $22.7tn. But sustainability reporting rules for its largest listed companies don't yet define a complete transition plan, IEEFA analysts write. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/21/india-net-zero-transition-how-brsr-disclosures-can-unlock-22-7tn/

Did you know GCB has four newsletters? Each follows a different part of the climate-finance story. Swipe through to learn more about each newsletter, and subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/gznDcyxR

The AI boom is concentrating insurers' risk. As data centres, grids and energy interlink, losses can spread across sectors. Swiss Re calls it "fundamentally insurable". https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/16/ai-boom-exposes-challenge-of-insuring-infrastructure-against-physical-risks/

On 30 October in Madrid, we're partnering with European Banking Institute and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid for a conference exploring where states, companies and financial markets meet, and how judgements, disclosures and transition plans move between them. Register: https://shorturl.at/Cx7fL

One in 10 bonds in the ECB's corporate monetary portfolios are tied to companies with fossil fuel activities in critical biodiversity areas, a new Reclaim Finance report finds. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/09/ecb-accused-of-fuelling-biodiversity-loss-through-fossil-fuel-finance/

When one company is sued over nature damage, its peer firms lose value too. Banque de France finds nature litigation reprices the whole sector, and calls it a growing financial risk. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/03/nature-litigation-is-a-growing-financial-risk-warns-banque-de-france/

This year's El Niño is on course to be the strongest on record. Analysts forecast a possible hydropower shortfall could raise Southeast Asia's reliance on coal and LNG. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/08/supersized-el-nino-puts-southeast-asias-renewables-transition-to-the-test/

One in 10 ECB corporate bonds are tied to fossil fuel activity in key biodiversity areas, a Reclaim Finance report claims. It says the ECB is indirectly supporting biodiversity loss. greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/09/...

The UK faces an imminent risk to financial stability from climate change, the Bank of England warns. A rapid repricing of assets to reflect climate risks could rival recent market stress episodes. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/07/03/uk-financial-stability-climate-change-risk-say-boe/

Fixing Thailand's rooftop solar rules could slash its LNG imports, says IEEFA. It recommends moving from net billing to net metering, cutting residential payback to as short as 4.5 years. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/08/28/rooftop-solar-reform-could-curb-thailands-rising-lng-import-bills/

Nature loss could disrupt £1.1 trillion of the UK economy. 1 in 10 UK businesses sits on a floodplain. The BoE calls flooding the UK's largest source of physical climate risk. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/02/nature-loss-is-a-financial-risk-the-uk-should-act-now/

Nepal's floods affected 783MW of hydropower. Farooq Azam of ICIMOD asks whether any glaciologist sits on the panel when governments approve big hydropower projects. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/09/07/climate-risks-grow-countries-face-mounting-financial-risks-from-fragile-infrastructure/

On 26 August, 200 million cubic metres of rock and ice fell into a valley on the Tibet border. Early-warning systems never detected it. Reconstruction is estimated at US$5bn, which is nearly 10% of Nepal's economy. Red more: https://shorturl.at/973FJ

$220bn was spent on nature solutions in 2023. The UN says it needs $571bn a year by 2030. Tipping point expert, Tim Lenton's new framework shows investors where that money can tip ecosystems back into recovery, not collapse. Read the full story here: https://shorturl.at/5BfXC

Renewables First estimates that Pakistan's people-led solar boom has avoided $12bn in oil and gas imports to date. LNG now mostly runs evening peaks. Read the full story here: https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/04/02/pakistans-solar-boom-protects-economy-from-oil-and-lng-disruptions/

More than two-thirds of England is in drought. The Climate Change Committee puts annual flood damage at £3.3bn and water scarcity losses at £3.8bn. The OBR says there is no reliable data on what the government spends on adaptation. https://shorturl.at/T6x1Y

Extreme heat could hit fossil fuels harder than renewables in Southeast Asia. Ember analysis finds that under the most extreme 2030 warming scenarios, Asean's solar and wind output shifts less than 1% from normal; thermal and nuclear power output could change by up to 4%. https://shorturl.at/wTEMf

The EU has pulled out of the Common Ground Taxonomy, the common taxonomy initiative it built with China and M-CGT which expanded it to include Singapore. It cites limited demand and resource cost as reasons. Full story:

The EU has pulled out of the Common Ground Taxonomy, the green finance project it built with China and M-CGT whoch expanded it to include Singapore. It cites limited demand and resource cost as reasons. Full story: https://shorturl.at/JcQJc

Asia's CBAM bill is coming in smaller than feared. Thinktank Sandbag puts China's net cost at €933m against €1.38bn in fees, India's at €428m instead of €762m. The winners are exporters already making low carbon steel. Everyone else still pays, just less. https://shorturl.at/WEhYS

Flood damage costs the UK £3.3bn a year. Water scarcity costs £3.8bn. Britain's fiscal watchdog says there is no reliable data on what the government spends adapting to either. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/08/19/uks-water-stress-evolving-into-national-security-risk/

Climate finance between developing countries tripled in a decade, a new WRI paper finds. But just 8% reached low-income nations, mirroring the rich world's record. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/08/06/as-new-sources-of-climate-finance-grow-the-poorest-are-neglected/

New research finds that ecosystem collapse could add US$162bn a year to government borrowing costs.This is a conservative estimate as the study counted only pollination, fisheries and timber. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/07/31/biodiversity-loss-could-raise-annual-borrowing-costs-by-us162bn/

China's central bank is finalising a biodiversity finance taxonomy: 87 activities, four categories, each with a measurable indicator. It has been piloted in 26 provinces since 2025 and may become mandatory. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/08/05/china-set-to-finalise-biodiversity-taxonomy/

G20 national development banks already spend more on clean energy than the World Bank does, about $37bn a year. Redirecting their fossil fuel finance could add $28bn more, a report finds. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/07/29/the-overlooked-banks-that-could-power-the-renewables-revolution/

Asia's steel exporters braced for a big bill from the EU carbon border tax. Think tank Sandbag projects that India's bill could fall from €428m to €79m, as Europe phases out free allowances. https://shorturl.at/Z0aOG

Climate finance has doubled since 2018 to US$2tn a year. Measurement has not: projects are judged on narrow indicators, then barely monitored. Tianyin Sun and Yuan Zheng argue satellites, sensors and AI could grade impact live. Full op-ed at greencentralbanking.com https://shorturl.at/Sq3py

Disasters cost Asean countries more than US$11bn in six years, and the region is among the least insured. Finance ministries now call that a fiscal problem. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/07/27/insuring-against-climate-risks-role-of-finance-ministers-says-asean-insurer/

Under the amended European sustainability reporting standards, or ESRS, EU companies report sustainability data worldwide, but non-EU companies would report mainly only their EU footprint. Europe's own standard setter EFRAG warns that breaks comparability. https://shorturl.at/NoeeO

Over half the bonds pledged at the Bank of Korea come from fossil fuel and high-emission sectors. Green bonds were under 2%. A new study calls it an implicit subsidy to high-carbon firms. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/08/10/bank-of-korea-urged-to-stop-fossil-fuel-subsidy/

JERA, Japan's largest power generator, replaced a gas plant with a bigger gas plant. A transition bond paid for it. This video explains how that qualified, and why the Energy Shift Institute says the emissions savings barely register. https://shorturl.at/7E00p

The ECB now makes banks publish prudential transition plans. Officials argue that central banks must look beyond their traditional toolkit to protect financial stability. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/07/20/climate-risks-push-prudential-transition-plans-to-the-top-of-central-bank-agendas/

Japan issues 76% of the world's transition bonds, so what passes there sets the standard across Asia. Nearly $6bn went to power and gas, where new plants cut emissions by as little as 6%. https://shorturl.at/AyPaX

Nature loss could add US$162bn a year to sovereign borrowing costs, a new study finds. China and India face the biggest bills. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/07/31/biodiversity-loss-could-raise-annual-borrowing-costs-by-us162bn/

China has written its own version of the EU’s SFDR. New disclosure rules require sustainability-labelled funds to hold what their names promise, aligning at least 80% of assets with their stated strategy. https://shorturl.at/vBwNs

A Banque de France study finds that banks lend less during heatwaves. Acute heat depresses SME credit for up to five years. Chronic warming keeps it down for up to eight. https://greencentralbanking.com/2026/07/07/banks-lend-less-during-heatwaves-banque-de-france-study-finds/