Although more than three-quarters of indicators are heading in the right direction, progress towards the Paris Agreement temperature goal is alarmingly inadequate, exposing communities, economies and ecosystems to unacceptable risks. The State of Climate Action 2025 report says that global efforts across 29 indicators are well off track, such that at least a twofold (and for most, more than a fourfold) acceleration will be required this decade to keep the 1.5°C limit within reach.
Category: Finance
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Threatened species and precious habitats to be better protected
New funding for local projects across 12 UK Overseas Territories and 36 developing countries will be rolled out over the next five years, according to the UK Government. The package will support local action to restore nature, reduce poverty and address climate change around the world. This will help protect 1.5m hectares of forest in Bolivia, recover St Helena’s cloud forest and support critically endangered eagles in the Philippines.
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First CO2 storage by Northern Lights JV achieved
The first CO2 volumes have now been transported by the Northern Lights project through the 100km pipeline and injected into the Aurora reservoir 2,600m below the seabed of the Norwegian North Sea. Northern Lights will transport and store CO2 from Norway during the remainder of 2025 with CO2 volumes from Denmark and the Netherlands expected to be added in 2026.
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Eunomia: full subsidy removal would reduce polymer production
Eunomia’s latest report demonstrates that full subsidy removal would lead to substantial reductions in polymer production, particularly in economies with high subsidy levels. Meanwhile, the impact on consumer prices would be minimal. For fast-moving consumer goods such as bottled water, the average price increase is estimated between just 0.14% and 0.90%.
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ShareAction: real estate investment managers fall short on climate
Research by ShareAction, which campaigns for responsible investment, shows several of the world’s largest real estate investment managers are failing to take even basic steps to tackle climate change, leaving investors exposed to financial risks and emissions unchecked in a key sector for the transition to net zero.
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The SBTi has released the Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard
Financial institutions will, for the first time, be able to set science-based targets aligned with net-zero, following the release of the Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) Financial Institutions Net-Zero Standard.
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Chestnut Carbon: financing for US afforestation in the voluntary carbon market
Chestnut Carbon, a nature-based carbon removal developer, has announced the successful closing of a landmark non-recourse project finance credit facility of up to $210m – a first-of-its-kind bank financing for a US voluntary carbon removal afforestation project.
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$2.5m for blue carbon project in Sierra Leone
FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi) is investing $2.5m in West Africa Blue’s blue carbon project in Sierra Leone’s Sherbro River Estuary. FSDAi’s investment will contribute to the conservation and restoration of approximately 94,000 hectares of mangrove ecosystems across 11 chiefdoms.
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ISEP surveys the state of the sustainability profession for 2025
More than 40% of respondents to the Institute of Sustainability and Environmental Professionals’ (ISEP) 'State of the Sustainability Profession 2025 Report' have experienced a change in responsibilities in the past year, reflecting the rapidly evolving nature of the sustainability profession. There is now a wide and varied spread of topics within the remits of sustainability professionals, yet more than 70% of all respondents have a focus on waste management, climate change mitigation and energy efficiency.
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CPI: moving public climate finance along the transformation curve
The Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) has identified 10 key elements for public climate finance to deliver transformational change. It says that this means moving beyond the project level toward transformational change at the market and system levels, which is both an imperative and an opportunity for public climate finance providers.
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UK’s OBR: cost of climate uncertain but cost of inaction higher
The costs of climate change are highly uncertain, but represent a significant risk to the public finances in all the scenarios explored by the UK’s Office for Budgetary Responsibility (OBR). These costs come from both transitioning the economy to net zero emissions, and from damage to the economy caused by climate change. However, the latter is the more significant fiscal cost in the scenarios the OBR presents.
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Communications are central to climate action
Even the accountancy profession is talking about communications. Time and again it proclaims that financial and non-financial reporting (especially in relation to climate and nature impacts) should be integrated; but increasingly it says that this integration – and the outcomes of business strategy underpinned by green credentials – should be communicated. But it rarely is.
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Report maps biodiversity risk management by insurers
A report from the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) maps current practices and challenges in the identification, measurement and management of biodiversity risks by insurers and reinsurers as part of the existing Solvency II risk management framework.
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The UN Sec-Gen sees three ways to fix the world
UN Chief, António Guterres, has issued a warning that sustainable development underpinned by international cooperation is in trouble. Addressing the opening session of the 4th Financing for Development Conference, he noted that multilateralism is struggling, as is trust between the major actors. He said he saw three areas of action:
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The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index shows how hot the world is
The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI) provides a comprehensive understanding of nations' climate vulnerability to help improve the targeting and provision of climate change adaptation financing. It shows a country’s climate and financial vulnerability as well as governance considerations that may impact lending.