Publications

May 25, 2023

Promoting Interoperability Across Environmental and Social Risk Management Frameworks

This research report, conducted in partnership between IFC and the Equator Principles Association, explores linkages and provides practical comparisons between the European Union Taxonomy’s do no significant harm and minimum safeguards requirements, and the IFC Performance Standards and World Bank Group Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines.

121 pages | © May 2023 IFC | Complimentary

May 14, 2023

Deep Blue: Opportunities for Blue Carbon Finance in Coastal Ecosystems

Ocean-based climate mitigation activities are an indispensable part of the solution to tackle climate change. Changing practices in ocean-based transport, ocean-based renewable energy projects, and fisheries as well as protecting coastal and marine ecosystems and carbon storage in seabeds can potentially close up to 21 percent of the emissions gap between the current policy baseline and the pathway to limit global heating to 1.5°C.

May 8, 2023

IFC Climate Governance: Progression Matrix & Tip Sheet

The Climate Governance Progression Matrix is a tool to assist Boards of Directors in identifying and overseeing climate-related risks and opportunities. The accompanying tip sheet offers guidance to Boards of Directors on climate governance and recommended practices to assist them in identifying and overseeing climate-related risks and opportunities.

14 pages | © May 2023 IFC | Complimentary

Nov 9, 2022

Adapting to Natural Disasters in Africa: What’s in it for the Private Sector?

A study on private sector investment opportunities that respond to increasingly frequent and severe floods and droughts in Africa.

Sep 15, 2022

Nepal - Country Climate and Development Report

This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) identifies ways that Nepal can achieve its overall development objectives while fostering its strategic ambition to transition to a greener, more resilient, and inclusive development pathway.

Jul 19, 2022

Common Principles For Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking

The Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking consist of a set of definitions and guidelines and a list of eligible activities that allow for consistent accounting and reporting of financial flows for climate change mitigation finance.

English | 64 pages | IFC 2021

Mar 30, 2022

Green Bond Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Issuing a Green Bond

Practical and straightforward guidance for financial institutions in emerging markets to prepare and execute a successful green bond issue.

English | 45 pages | 2022 IFC

Jan 28, 2022

Guidelines for Blue Finance

This document identifies eligible blue project categories to guide IFC’s investments to support the blue economy, in line with the Green Bond Principles and Green Loan Principles. The market has been seeking guidance on project eligibility criteria, translating general Blue Economy Financing Principles, such as the Sustainable Blue Economy Principles and the Sustainable Ocean Principles, towards guidelines for blue bond issuances and blue lending.

Jan 18, 2022

Sustainability-Linked Finance—Mobilizing Capital for Sustainability in Emerging Markets

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.

English | 8 Pages—January—Note 110 | IFC 2022

Dec 31, 2021

Trishuli Assessment Tool Field Manual: A Standardized Methodology for Freshwater Aquatic Biodiversity Sampling and Long-Term Monitoring for Hydropower Projects in the Himalayan Region

This field manual provides guidance for implementing the Trishuli Assessment Tool in the rivers of Nepal and other Himalayan regions.

108 pages | @ December 2021 IFC | Complimentary

Sep 9, 2021

Creating Markets in Vietnam: Country Private Sector Diagnostic

The Vietnam Country Private Sector Diagnostic provides IFC & World Bank analysis of private investment opportunities, constraints, and policy recommendations.

English | 123 pages | 2021 IFC

Jun 3, 2021

The Power of Batteries to Expand Renewable Energy in Emerging Markets

The global power and transportation sectors of the future will be fundamentally different from today, igniting opportunities for investment in new technologies that can bolster resilience and lower carbon emissions. One of those key technologies is batteries, which are creating increasingly compelling solutions for storing and distributing renewable energy.

Jun 3, 2021

Hydrogen's New Horizon— Scaling Up Clean Hydrogen for the Power Sector

EMERGING ENERGY SOLUTIONS A series on emerging energy trends and opportunities from IFC

Jun 3, 2021

Emerging Energy Solutions

Emerging Energy Solutions

Apr 15, 2021

Blue Natural Capital: Enhancing Business Outcomes and Sustainability of Coastal Tourism Markets

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the tourism industry particularly hard, affecting livelihoods and exacerbating some pressures on the natural capital resource base. Supporting the tourism sector recovery is an opportunity to Build Back Better, ensuring that business investments lead to a sustainable and resilient shared-growth pathway that is good for tourism and the natural capital on which it depends. Further sustainable management of the Blue Economy could more than double its economic contribution to global GDP. Therefore, the “new normal” must deepen the consideration of Blue Natural Capital and its dynamic relationship with economic sectors across coastal landscapes and markets. The experience of the State of Palawan in the Philippines is explored in this note. It serves as a useful model for weighing the opportunities and challenges typical of coastal tourism areas and exploring natural dependencies therein.

English | 8 pages — April —Note 101 | IFC 2021

Jan 13, 2021

Ctrl-Alt-Delete: A Green Reboot for Emerging Markets

The report analyzes the economic and climate benefits of a green post-COVID recovery. The report finds that supporting investments and channeling COVID-19 recovery funds in ten key sectors across 21 emerging markets can generate $10.2 trillion in investment opportunity, create 213.4 million jobs, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) by 4 billion tons. The report focuses on decarbonizing existing and future energy infrastructure, building climate-smart cities, and helping speed the transition of key industries to green production practices.

English | 84 pages | IFC 2021

Dec 8, 2020

Sustainable Finance Practices in South African Retirement Funds

A look at opportunities to unlock investment in green & climate finance & support a resilient economy

English | 66 pages | 2020 IFC

Nov 30, 2020

Leading a Clean Urban Recovery with Electric Buses

With the imposition of lockdowns in early 2020 due to the onset of COVID-19, bus, train, and metro lines experienced significant decreases in ridership. Between March and April, public transit ridership was down 70-90 percent in some places. These recent challenges have come on top of a fall in public transport ridership over the past decade, all of which leads some to wonder if our ability to get around cities will ever be the same.

English | 8 pages | IFC 2020

Oct 23, 2020

How Natural Capital Approaches Can Support Sustainable Investments and Markets

Nature’s current decline, underpinned by unsustainable consumption and production patterns, population dynamics, deforestation, and land use change, is a clear risk to business, markets, and society. The way that businesses measure, value, relate to, and account for the interaction between nature and people must evolve, and quickly. This note underscores the urgency of action and shares ways companies can use natural capital approaches to help maintain both nature and their ongoing role in advancing prosperity and development in emerging markets.

English | 8 pages — October — Note 92 | IFC 2020

Jun 15, 2020

Emerging Markets: Assessment of Hard-Currency Bond Market

As countries plan economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and issuers may see green and social bonds as a way of meeting environment goals, mitigating the negative health and socioeconomic impacts, building sustainable financial systems, and transitioning into a more balanced world economy.

English | 48 pages | 2020 | IFC International Finance Corporation 2020

Jun 1, 2020

Climate Investment Opportunities Report Series

Climate Investment Opportunities Report Series

May 6, 2020

Emerging Market Green Bonds Report 2019: Momentum Builds as Nascent Markets Grow

As the next decade is critical for mobilizing investment for sustainable development, this report highlights growth and identifies opportunities for emerging market green bond markets.

Jan 13, 2020

South African Agri-Processing Resource Efficiency: Opportunities, Challenges and Outlook

IFC, in partnership with SECO and Agbiz, conducted a study on the opportunities, challenges and outlook of resource efficiency in South Africa’s agri-processing sector. The study identified the potential to save up to 30 million cubic meters of water per year, equivalent to 20 percent of the sector’s total water consumption, which will require an investment of $400 million. The study provides in-depth analysis on nine key sub-sectors and the policy framework on water use in agri-processing in South Africa.

English | 72 pages | 2020 IFC

Dec 3, 2019

Green Buildings: A Financial and Policy Blueprint for Emerging Markets

During the next decade, green buildings represent a significant low-carbon investment opportunity in emerging markets—$24.7 trillion by 2030. Cities in emerging markets are expanding at a fast pace to keep up with high population growth and rapid urbanization. The floor area of the buildings that dot our skylines is expected to double by 2060. Most of this growth will occur in residential construction, particularly in middle-income countries. Meeting the demand for new buildings through green construction can spur low-carbon economic growth and create skilled jobs in emerging markets for decades to come.

English | 2019 IFC

Sep 19, 2019

The Dirty Footprint of the Broken Grid

To better understand the impacts of generators on health, economies, and the climate, IFC has partnered with the Schatz Energy Research Center at Humboldt State University to embark on the most comprehensive inquiry to date into the footprint and repercussions of using backup generators. This study explores fundamental questions about the scale and impacts of backup generators that have been largely unanswered beyond anecdote and local or regionally focused studies.

English | 64 pages | 2019 IFC