1. Importance of Green Finance for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals and Energy Security

In 2017, global investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency declined by 3% and there is a risk that it will slow further. Clearly, fossil fuels still dominate energy investments. This could threaten the expansion of green energy needed to meet energy security, climate, and clean-air goals. Several developed and developing economies are still following pro-coal energy policies. The extra CO₂ generated from new coal-fired power plants could more than wipe out any reductions in emissions made by other nations. Finance is the engine of development of infrastructure projects including energy projects. Generally, financial institutions show more interest in fossil fuel projects rather than in green projects, mainly due to risks associated with these new technologies and their relatively lower rate of return. If we plan to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we need to open a new file for green projects and scale up the financing of investments that provide environmental benefits through new financial instruments and new policies, such as green bonds, green banks, carbon market instruments, fiscal policy, green central banking, fintech, community-based green funds, among others. These instruments are known as “green finance.”