Why might Green Finance and Sustainable Blended Finance be needed under the Global Plastic Treaty?

By Daniel F. Akrofi

The proposed global plastic treaty currently being negotiated seeks to end plastic pollution by regulating the entire lifecycle of plastics. To end global plastic pollution and decarbonize the global plastic economy, financial flows that fuel the global plastic industry must truly be tailored towards transitioning away from the current models of economic development, consumption, and overreliance on fossil fuel-derived virgin plastics – considering that 98 percent of plastics produced globally are fossil fuel-derived. This will require a 360-degree shift from the current mode of financing in the global plastic industry that encourages overreliance on fossil-fuel feedstock to produce excessive plastics (in some cases non-recyclable plastics) to green financing aimed at ending global plastic pollution.

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What does green mean in green microfinance?

By Frédéric Huybrechs / Debt and Green Transition blog series

An important item on the political agenda of dealing with climate change is the question of how to finance adaptation and mitigation. There are many options on the table, but debt-based instruments are gaining ground. One of them is ‘green microfinance’ or, in other words, the practice of banks and development finance institution to integrate individuals and small-scale organizations into the financial (and green) architecture by means of small-scale financial services. This raises questions on how “green” is defined and how this financial instrument relates to debt and vulnerability in the broader socio-economic context.

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