GCC ‘green finance’ sector has potential to unlock $2trln GDP, over 1mln jobs

GCC ‘green finance’ sector has potential to unlock $2trln GDP, over 1mln jobs

“While all GCC countries have already begun their respective sustainability journeys, policymakers must act decisively and in a differentiated manner to capture the largest share of the economic prize,” Strategy&, Middle East, part of the PwC network, said.

Global green financing, aimed at environmentally-friendly projects around the world, has grown over 100 times in the past decade. Global borrowing by issuing green bonds and loans, and equity funding through initial public offerings targeting green projects, swelled to $540.6 billion in 2021 from $5.2 billion in 2012, according to a new study from the TheCityUK and BNP Paribas.

China and the US accounted for 13.6 per cent and 11.6 per cent of the green bond issuance between 2012 and 2021, the data showed.

They were followed by France and Germany, with about 10 per cent each of the issuance of green bonds during the period. The share of green finance in the total finance market was about 4.0 per cent in 2021, compared with around 0.1 per cent in 2012.

Aurelien Vincent, a partner with Strategy& Middle East, said investors around the world are pouring capital into projects with a strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) angle.

“Our analysis has found that green investments in six