Green finance: investors need transparency

The effects of climate change have become increasingly palpable for the general public in recent years, with wildfires having destroyed large parts of the Amazon rainforest and the Australian bush, killing more than a billion animals. The attention on the topic, including the need to reverse the inexorable decline in biodiversity and promote sustainable livestock production, has been heightened even further due to the coronavirus outbreak. Stopping the disruptive effects of climate change requires prompt and effective responses at all institutional levels – supranational, national and local – as well as by all individuals. The financial industry can play a crucial role in ensuring an efficient transition to a low-carbon world that is guided by market signals rather than diktat, but only if certain conditions are fulfilled.