Publication: Sustainability-Linked Finance: Mobilizing Capital for Sustainability in Emerging Markets
Date
2022-01
ISSN
Published
2022-01
Author(s)
de la Orden, Raquel
de Calonje, Ignacio
Abstract
Sustainability-linked finance is
designed to incentivize the borrower’s achievement of
environmental, social, or governance targets through pricing
incentives. Launched in 2017, it has now become the
fastest-growing sustainable finance instrument, with over
$809 billion issued to date in sustainability-linked loans
and bonds. Yet these instruments are still nascent in
emerging markets, which represent only 5 percent of total
issuance to date. This note shares examples of recent
sustainability-linked financing, including several involving
IFC in various roles, to highlight how investors can utilize
these new instruments in emerging markets and mitigate
greenwashing risks
Citation
“de la Orden, Raquel; de Calonje, Ignacio. 2022. Sustainability-Linked Finance: Mobilizing Capital for Sustainability in Emerging Markets. EMCompass;Note 110. © International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36872 License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO.”
Report Series
Report Series
Other publications in this report series
-
PublicationBlended Concessional Finance: The Benefits of Transparency and Access(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2021-07)Blended concessional finance, the combination of commercial finance from the private sector and development finance institutions (DFIs) with concessional finance from public and other sources, is increasingly being used by DFIs to support developmentally important projects where normal DFI or commercial finance is not available because of the high risks involved. This can be especially significant in lower-income and fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS), where risks are high and innovative and pioneering projects can be critical to economic growth, market creation, and poverty reduction. Blended concessional finance is also being used during the COVID-19 pandemic to help sustain struggling businesses hurt by demand and supply shocks, and to rebuild economies toward green, resilient, and inclusive growth. As blended concessional finance involves the use of concessional public or philanthropic1 funds to enhance the viability of private sector projects, strong processes, particularly in the areas of transparency, access, and governance, are necessary to ensure that these resources are used effectively and without distorting markets.
-
PublicationHow Technology Creates Markets: Trends and Examples for Private Investors in Emerging Markets(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2018-04-01)Technological progress is often associated with the creation of novel and useful products through innovation and ingenuity. Yet in several emerging markets, including low-income economies, it is often more common to adopt, adapt, and scale technologies created elsewhere.By doing so, private enterprises in these countries could use technology to create markets and expand their product and service offerings to unserved and underserved residents, a process that produces new customers, buyers, sellers, and employees. This transforms the pursuit of profits into a driver of economic growth, as well as higher productivity and living standards, and gives technology a central role in emerging market development.
-
PublicationHow to Scale Solar Power Generation in Emerging Markets(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2016-09)Solar power is an increasingly affordable, quick-to-build solution for countries in need of additional electricity generation. Yet many emerging markets face challenges to developing photovoltaic projects, as small project sizes and lengthy negotiations increase costs and timelines. Scaling Solar, launched by the World Bank Group in 2015, addresses these issues by providing an easy-to-follow process to plan, procure, and launch grid-connected solar projects using private sector financing within two years of engagement. It offers governments the tools to quickly increase energy generation at stable low tariffs and allows developers to bid on well-structured, standardized projects through a competitive, transparent process that reduces risk and costs, making new markets easier to navigate.
-
PublicationCase Study - Bayport Financial Services: How Can Businesses Tap Local Capital Markets to Expand?(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2016-04)Bond markets, though still underdeveloped in Africa, are beginning to emerge as a realistic financing option for private companies looking to invest or expand their operations on the continent. Multilateral development banks can play a critical role in that process by issuing bonds in local currencies and providing risk guarantees and anchor investments to companies looking to issue their own bonds.
-
PublicationBlockchain Governance and Regulation as an Enabler for Market Creation in Emerging Markets(International Finance Corporation, Washington, DC, 2018-09)Developing a proper governance and regulatory framework for blockchain-based applications will be essential to providing market participants the stability they need to fully engage with the technology and allowing innovation to flourish. Given the global, multi-sectoral reach of blockchain, regulators, and industry will have to work in a collaborative manner to ensure they can both experiment and learn, and so shape the future of the technology in a way that benefits all parties and society as a whole.