Green Finance €“ International Initiatives And Relevant Practices In Supporting Global Sustainable Goals

Currently, under the imperative of sustainable development, green finance could play an important role. Starting from this premise, the objective of this paper is to present a selection of some representative initiatives in the field of green financing, on which several successful international experiences are based. To this end, the first part of the paper reveals some global initiatives fostering sustainable financial system including the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the Sustainable Banking and Finance Network, the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance. Of great importance for promoting green finance are Principles for Responsible Investment, Principles for Responsible Banking and Principles for Sustainable Insurance as well as creation of green funds and green banks, new financial institutions from which we have selected some relevant case studies. Green bonds were chosen to be presented in the last part of the paper, due to their evolution, progress and growing use in financing environmental projects. Thus, examples of successful green bond issues in both emerging and developed markets are highlighted. Given the urgency for environmental action, the promotion of best practices implemented in different countries could help authorities, financial institutions and economic agents in countries in the early stages of their sustainability journey.