Simon Jessop

The Green Climate Fund (GCF), the world's largest fund helping developing countries deal with the impacts of climate change, said on Friday it had approved $686.8 million in financing at a board meeting this week.

International auditors have been given new guidance on what to check when assessing firms' environmental, social and governance claims - and how - as part of efforts to increase rigour and consistency, the chair of the industry's global ethics watchdog told Reuters.

A turbulent year for sustainable finance is set to continue in 2025 as the return of Donald Trump as U.S. president heralds more regional divergence on everything from fund flows to legal cases and market regulations.

JPMorgan said on Tuesday it was leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the latest U.S. lender to quit the sector's biggest climate coalition amid rising U.S. political pressure.

U.S. lenders have been rushing in recent weeks to leave one of the world's top banking sector climate coalitions, drawing scorn from campaigners who worry the industry is losing resolve to take action on fossil fuels.

U.S. investor Acadia Infrastructure Capital and companies including Microsoft are looking to help develop a $9 billion pipeline of renewable energy projects across the country, the project lead told Reuters.

A group of climate vulnerable nations is using a U.N. meeting this week to push for a credit ratings overhaul, arguing ratings should reflect climate resilience measures, an advisor to the group told Reuters.

Goldman Sachs said it has quit a sector coalition aimed at aligning bank lending and investment activities with global efforts to fight climate change, becoming the most high-profile member to leave the group.

Multilateral lender Climate Investment Funds will back a $500 million plan to help drought-prone Ethiopia restore degraded land, protect its forests and bolster food security, it said on Wednesday.

A large chunk of the around $1 billion a day that is required will need to come from the private sector.