2022 was a busy year for the climate movement with peaks and troughs throughout. We saw economic volatility and war in Europe change our reliance on fossil fuels. We saw successful and unsuccessful summits, talks and conferences, bringing us 'loss and damage finance', fossil fuel lobbyists and commitments to protect biodiversity. We saw seriously questionable behaviour by governments and big business as greenwashing spreads and green commitments fall by the wayside. Importantly, we also experienced moments of sheer joy through positive developments in areas ranging from technology to rewilding, to seeing a gradual shift in public awareness of the climate crisis. As the festive season drew to a close and we stepped into a new year once again full of hope for what could be achieved it is important that we take a moment to look back and remind ourselves of those moments which have shaped sustainable finance moving into 2023.

2022 marked a year of hope as numerous nations continued to speak out on climate change and the need for sustainable development. The Cop26 agenda appeared to be in full force as not just international governments but entire communities were dedicated to making changes that would positively benefit our planet. Six months later and the progress we have made leaves much to be desired.

Flows into European sustainable funds have more than doubled in Q2 of 2020 to €54.6bn, following growth of investor interest in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investments. This has, encouragingly, been helped by the initiatives to “build back better” in the wake of COVID-19, and consequent restructuring of investments.

What is ESG? ESG is the Environmental, Social and Governance Principles - are considered the “Three Pillars of Sustainability” and defined by the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) as “The systematic and explicit inclusion of material ESG factors into investment analysis and investment decisions”.