Green finance grows and flourishes

As global leaders gather at the Katowice Climate Change Conference this week, the question of how to fulfill the Paris agreement commitment of keeping the temperature rise this century close to 1.5 C again entered the media spotlight.

One unique solution to addressing this tough challenge is green finance, which has become a hot topic in the financial sector, especially this year due to its unprecedented growth rate.

Ten years ago, when the World Bank issued the first-ever green bond, it was such a novelty that it only attracted tens of millions of dollars. In comparison, by June 2018, the world had $1.45 trillion of climate-aligned bonds outstanding.