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Despite regulatory hurdles, the 2026 Global Finance prize winners continue to expand green and green financing.
The sustainable financial market lost ground in 2025, and many analysts predict limited improvement in 2026.
According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, global green, social, sustainable, and sustainable debt has reached $6.5 trillion since the third quarter of last year. About two-thirds (64%) of that volume is green-labeled debt.
It’s a huge amount, but emissions related to sustainability are down by 2025. By mid-year, Reuters reported that the dollar value of green bonds sold by governments, banks, and corporations had dropped by nearly a third from their 2024 estimates. Beyond the green label, all sustainability emissions have decreased slightly. Bloomberg’s current estimates from early November showed that global sustainable debt issuance reached $918 billion, compared to $922 billion in 2024.
The reversal of climate change policies in the US and Europe did not help the market.
Late last year, the European Commission proposed drastic revisions to existing environmental laws. Amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive simplify business reporting requirements on climate change initiatives. The commission also proposes rolling back environmental laws that require industrial emissions to be reported. The purpose of this new law is to make it easier for businesses to comply with EU emissions and waste management regulations.
Environmental regulations in the US had an even greater impact. The Trump administration has begun a sweeping rollback of the country’s environmental regulations. These include actions to roll back greenhouse gas standards for automobiles, and greenhouse gas emissions standards for coal plants. The administration has also weakened regulations on electronic equipment emissions. Finally, it withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement.
The potential impact of this reversal on the sustainability market is clear. Banks and other organizations issue bonds in part to help businesses and individuals meet sustainability mandates. When governments weaken those mandates, they remove another incentive to invest in sustainability-related bonds and other instruments.
But not all.
“As the impact of hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts on financial institutions increases around the world, financial institutions are facing increasing pressure from customers, regulators, and shareholders to improve their climate risk management efforts,” said Peter Plochan, EMEA chief advisor for risk management at SAS.
Credit Agricole expects that in the year 2026 there will be a slight increase in credit institutions related to sustainability: up to €870 billion ($1.19 trillion). Much of this increase, they say, is due to the recovery efforts in Asia, especially China. Chinese banks are now financing a wide range of sustainability-related projects, including carbon offsets, green infrastructure construction, sustainable technology production, and the creation of environmentally friendly server farms.
Blue bond issuance may increase. After the UN Ocean Conference last June, BNP Paribas notes, blue-chip bonds have gained renewed momentum. It finances everything from clean water infrastructure to reducing marine plastic, from biodiversity protection to coastal strengthening.
Recognizing the importance of clean water, Global Financee this year presents its first sustainability award for the Best Blue Bond, with BTG Pactual winning the global award for financing a project to improve access to clean water and water transportation in Brazil.
A mixed picture of ESG market trends is likely to continue in 2026.
The ESG financial label will lose relevance, Plochan predicts, as banks and other lenders focus on specific issues: environmental, social, or governance. He says: “The priority will be on the environment, especially the impact of climate risk.”
However, despite the reversal of the government’s stabilization mandate, financial services regulators will continue to tighten their risk rules, he adds, given the financial risks posed by intensifying climate events.
“The range is widening,” Plochan said. “All natural risks must be addressed, not just climate. And this will not only affect banks, but insurance companies and, increasingly, asset managers. I expect to see major regulatory changes, with effects felt especially in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Whether the combination of these efforts will be enough to heal the burning world is debatable.
According to the UN Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, “the world is still far from achieving the 2030 agenda to combat climate change and reduce social inequality.” Of the 139 measurable ESG targets the report assessed, “adequate progress” has been made by only 35% of countries worldwide.
This is despite the Copernicus Climate Change Service reporting a 2025 global average temperature of around 1.44 °C above pre-industrial levels. In the past year alone, deadly heat waves in Europe, wildfires in California, extensive flooding in South Africa, and a Category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean can all be traced, at least in part, to climate change.
How to do it
Global and regional awards require submissions that describe robust sustainability performance metrics, such as year-on-year growth in sustainable financial activities or sustainable financial instruments as a percentage of the overall portfolio. Soft metrics are also needed that include goal alignment with best practices for sustainability and new product development.
Entries are not required for the national awards, which are judged by independent research by a panel of editors. Evaluation criteria include governance policies and principles, success in financing environmental and social sustainability, industry leadership, and third-party evaluation. This award program covers activities from January 2025 to December 2025. There was no entry fee.
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