"Climate risk is financial risk" - an interview with Julie Becker

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Luxembourg Times or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: After a decade of rapid growth, sustainable finance is slowing in 2025 amid geopolitical tensions, ESG backlash, and regulatory uncertainty — but its leaders argue the long-term direction remains firmly intact.

🔭 The context: From niche to mainstream — with growing pains
• Climate risk is now widely recognised as a financial and stability risk, embedded in investment decisions
• Global sustainable debt peaked in 2021 at over €1 trillion, with 2024 the second-best year on record (€878bn)
• Innovation has expanded tools such as sustainability-linked bonds and transition finance, though high-quality impact data remains scarce

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Financing the transition is as important as defining “green”
• A narrow focus on pure green assets risks starving hard-to-abate sectors of capital needed to transition
• Without credible transition finance, companies risk becoming stranded assets, threatening jobs, growth, and climate progress
• Greenwashing is a concern — but so is greenhushing, where issuers avoid sustainability labels out of fear of scrutiny

⏭️ What’s next: Exchanges and investors as gatekeepers of credibility
• Transition finance, sovereign sustainability-linked bonds, and gender finance are seen as key growth areas
• Retail investor mobilisation and financial literacy are critical to unlocking capital at scale

💬 One quote: “We are losing time when we should clearly have a sense of urgency,” said Julie Becker, warning that regulatory instability risks slowing progress when acceleration is needed most

See on illuminem’s Data Hub™ the sustainability performance — carbon credit purchases, total emissions, and climate targets of thousands of companies

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