News

In 2022, green lending exceeded debt financing for the fossil fuel industry

“For the first time, more money was raised in the debt markets for climate-friendly projects than for fossil-fuel companies,” writes Bloomberg’s Tim Quinson.  Data compiled by Bloomberg show that, in 2022, “roughly $580 billion was arranged in 2022 for renewable energy and other environmentally responsible ventures, while the oil, gas and coal industries turned to…(Read more)

Melinda French Gates says Women’s Economic Progress has Stalled 

In conjunction with the Gates Foundation’s September 2022 SDG Goalkeepers Report, Melinda French Gates says that women’s economic progress has stalled—and not only because of the pandemic. “Over the years”, she writes, “efforts (including our foundation’s) to close this gap have centered around “women’s economic empowerment,” a shorthand for providing women with jobs or cash.…(Read more)

US to Triple Climate Change Spending over the Next Ten Years

The World Economic Forum has underscored the significant commitment by the federal government in the United States to triple spending on climate change over the next ten years. Citing a new report by RMI, WEF notes that: “The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act include more than…(Read more)

Ventures at the Helm of their Impact Measurement

Longtime Jackson and Associates colleague and global thought leader in impact assessment, Karim Harji has worked with a team of colleagues—Laura Budzyna, Penny Hawkins, and Heather Hachigian—to produce one of the field’s most innovative tools, entitled Ventures at the Helm. “This guide,” the authors write, “seeks to help impact ventures identify and advocate for the…(Read more)

Special Journal Issue Launched: Growing Gender Lens Investing in Emerging Markets

“Driven by reciprocal scholar-practitioner partnerships, future research on the growth of gender lens investing in emerging markets should be Southern directed, methodologically plural, anchored in open data, and actionable in real time,” write co-editors Carolina Robino and Edward Jackson in their editorial for the recently launched special issue of the Journal of Sustainable Finance and…(Read more)

A Gender Lens Investing Roadmap for Australian Investors

One of the most significant events at the Impact Investment Summit for the Asia Pacific region, held in Sydney on March 29-31, 2022, was the release of the report entitled A Roadmap for Australian Investors: How to invest to achieve gender equity, racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, by Capital Human and Impact Investing Australia.  Taking…(Read more)

United Nations Environment Assembly Votes for Historic Agreement to Fight Plastic Pollution

On March 2, 2022, in Nairobi, the United Nations Environment Assembly voted for ah historic agreement to fight plastic pollution. As the United Nations Environment Programme reported: “Heads of State, Ministers of environment and other representatives from 175 nations endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) today in Nairobi to End Plastic…(Read more)

Forthcoming: Special JSFI Issue on Growing Gender Lens Investing in Emerging Markets

From November 2021 through February 2022, the Journal of Sustainable Finance and Investment published six articles online on gender lens investing that will appear in the forthcoming special JSFI issue on Growing Gender Lens Investing in Emerging Markets. Edited by Edward Jackson and Carolina Robino, and supported by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, the articles…(Read more)

Standards Setters Work Together on Inclusive Finance Playbook

On February 18, 2022, the Investor Leadership Network convened a group of prominent standards organizations to discuss a common playbook for accelerating and measuring inclusion in sustainable investments. As ILN reported: “Roundtable participants included senior leaders from Values Reporting Foundation, Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA), Responsible Investment Association (RIA), OECD’s Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG),…(Read more)

Biodiversity Financing Promotes the Cooperation Needed to Stop Extinctions

Writing in The Triple Pundit, Riya Anne Polcastro underscores the importance of an initiative of major NGOs advocating annual financing from rich countries of $60 billion per year to protect biodiversity and prevent further mass extinction. “The Nature Conservancy, the Rainforest Trust and the World Resources Institute are just a few among the groups calling…(Read more)