Green Finance: Leveraging Investment for Environmental Protection
Governments, intergovernmental organizations, financial institutions, corporations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are examining green financing mechanisms in earnest. Financial institutions are enabling investment in green infrastructure, and many have signed on to the Equator Principles, a risk management framework for determining, assessing, and managing environmental and social risk in projects. NGOs and governments are promoting public policies that encourage investments in sustainability, and developing public and private mechanisms to facilitate investments in environmentally beneficial projects, such as the Paris Climate Agreement's Green Climate Fund. With targets including pollution control, biodiversity protection, and materials management, as well as investments directly related to decreasing reliance on fossil fuels, the impacts of green financing could reshape the landscape for environmental professions. On June 6, 2017, ELI held a public seminar to present recent developments in this field. Here, ELR presents a transcript of the discussion, which has been edited for style, clarity, and space considerations.