This archive covers progress in finance — from expanded access to credit and banking for underserved communities to policy shifts that redirect capital toward public good. Stories here document real changes in how money moves, who controls it, and what it builds.
Australia and Norway have formally joined the Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP), a historic alliance aiming at ending international public subsidies for fossil fuels. The CETP was launched during COP26 in Glasgow and has grown to include 41 countries and organizations, signaling a significant step forward in combating the climate catastrophe.
The GBFF has been designed to mobilize and accelerate investment in the conservation and sustainability of wild species and ecosystems and has already drawn over $200 million in investments from Canada and the U.K.
Ecuador just pulled off the largest debt-for-nature swap ever signed, unlocking an estimated $450 million for Galápagos marine conservation over the coming decades. The deal works by trading expensive international bonds for a cheaper loan, then channeling the savings into a new independent fund overseen by a board that mixes government ministers with civil society voices. Roughly $12 million a year will flow to park rangers, fisheries monitoring, and enforcement across one of the planet’s most extraordinary marine ecosystems — home to marine iguanas and the world’s northernmost penguins. Several Caribbean and Pacific island nations are already exploring similar structures, suggesting this could become a template for protecting threatened ecosystems wherever heavy debt and rich biodiversity overlap.
The Nature Conservancy announced it will work with partners to buy a piece of Barbados’ national debt and refinance it to facilitate this goal.
Portugal’s floating solar auction just made history with a negative price: one winning bidder agreed to pay the grid 4.13 euros per megawatt hour for the right to generate clean electricity over 15 years. EDP Renováveis pulled this off by bundling 70 megawatts of floating panels on Western Europe’s largest artificial lake with wind power and battery storage, letting the profitable pieces carry the solar contract. The environment ministry estimates the auction will deliver 114 million euros in savings for Portuguese electricity consumers. It’s a striking signal of how far renewable economics have come — and a glimpse of what’s possible when countries get creative about stitching clean energy technologies together.
The rules “aim to support public confidence in the impartiality and integrity of the Committee’s work by guarding against even the appearance of any conflict of interest,” according to the Fed.
The confirmation follows pressure from a network of civic groups named Korea Beyond Coal, which has advocated for a complete coal phase-out in Korea by 2030.
The initiative, One Million Black Women, is named for and guided by the goal of impacting the lives of at least 1 million Black women by 2030.
The decision from Credit Suisse, ING, and BNP Paribas is seen as a major victory for environmental and Indigenous rights activists, Reuters reported.
EU lawmakers agreed to provide a €672 billion recovery fund boost for the EU economy. 37% of the funding has to go to projects that help the climate.
