“Ethical Markets highly recommends this report “TOOLBOX for Sustainable Crisis Response Measures for Central banks and Supervisors”, updating on all the steps the world’s central bankers and prudential financial regulators are finally stepping up to disclose the climate and ESG risks, both in their operations and more importantly in their huge asset purchases and quantitative easing programs. It is urgent that they refrain from including fossilized assets in these asset -buying programs to add stimulus needed to maintain aggregate demand during the Covid-19 global crisis.
This report complements the report by Andrew Bailey, new head of the Bank of England on their climate risks disclosure, we posted earlier, as well as the CERES report on accelerating similar disclosures in all US regulatory agencies and the Fed.
~Hazel Henderson, Editor“
June 2020
Sustainable finance will be critical to ensure the route out of the COVID-19 crisis accelerates progress to a net zero, inclusive and resilient economy. In this issue, we feature a range of new material that illustrates how to do this.
What next for sustainable finance in India? 
By Suranjali Tandon, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), India
In this post for the Sustainable Finance Leadership series, Suranjali Tandon examines the key features of India’s approach to connecting capital markets and environmental imperatives, a drive that is set to accelerate following COVID-19, with a sovereign green bond on the horizon.
India has emerged as an important destination for investors seeking assets that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, the incorporation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors is still not fully developed. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted why sustainable practices need to be at the core of both economic practice and financial thinking, not least in terms of the importance of setting high social standards in corporate India and beyond. But India is also particularly vulnerable to deepening climate change and responding to this threat will require unprecedented flows of finance. One estimate suggests that US$4.5 trillion is needed to achieve India’s goals for urban sustainability and renewable energy by 2040. This dwarfs India’s fiscal capacity: its annual budgeted expenditure on all sectors is approximately $300 billion per year. Limited public resources mean private finance will have to play a major role.
A Toolbox for Sustainable Crisis Response Measures for Central Banks and Supervisors
Simon Dikau, Nick Robins, Ulrich Volz
Central banks have a critical role to play, and our new toolbox shows how they can support a sustainable crisis response.
Toolbox events
Along with the publication of the of the INSPIRE Briefing Paper and Toolbox, two outreach webinars will be held on June 29 to discuss findings and implications. Both webinars will feature a presentation of the Toolbox by Simon Dikau (Research Officer, Grantham Research Institute) and Ulrich Volz (Director of the SOAS Centre for Sustainable Finance) followed by panel discussions with Nick Robins in the chair.
Webinar 1: 29 June, 11am-12pm Mexico City / 12-1pm Washington DC / 5-6pm London / 6-7pm Basel
Panel discussion features:
- Luiz Awazu Pereira da Silva (Deputy General Manager, BIS)
- Rafael del Villar Alrich (Chief Advisor to the Governor, Banco de México)
- Sonja Gibbs (Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance, IIF)
Webinar 2: 29 June, 9-10am London / 4-5pm Beijing and Singapore
Panel discussion features:
- Jacqueline Loh (Deputy Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore) (tbc)
- Ma Jun (Director of Center for Finance and Development at Tsinghua University, Chairman of China Green Finance Committee, and Member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the PBOC)