Dirty financing: the slow progression of ESG

Since 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement at COP 21 in 2015, ESG has been a central talking point in the trade finance world. The term “green finance” has seen a 300% search increase on Google from 2015-2023.   Shifting the conversation towards sustainability was undoubtedly an important step, as the shipping and trade sector contributes around 20% of global emissions. But what has come from this dialogue? The trade finance community continues to finance fossil fuels, and there have been numerous examples of greenwashing in recent years. What are realistic expectations for ESG standards, and how does the trade finance community accomplish them? To better understand how the trade finance industry can take the next steps in sustainability, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke with Roberto Leva, trade & supply chain finance relationship manager, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Johanna Wissing, who is interviewed as board member of ITFA. Johanna also is a director of finance syndication at Credit Suisse.   https://www.tradefinanceglobal.com/posts/podcast-s1-e108-dirty-financing-the-slow-progression-of-esg/