The 2025 annual report of the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) offers a detailed snapshot of how public authorities are progressing from sustainable finance framework development to practical implementation. Amid escalating climate and biodiversity risks, complex industrial transitions, and increasing scrutiny on the effectiveness of sustainable finance, the IPSF remains an important multilateral forum for fostering international coordination and coherence.
With 22 members and observers representing over 60% of global GDP and 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the IPSF offers a forum where member jurisdictions can exchange policy experience and improve international comparability and interoperability of their sustainable finance frameworks. The 2025 report reflects this role by documenting national and regional progress, identifying emerging trends, and deepening international discussion.
From framework design to implementation
The annual report highlights steady progress in consolidating the core elements of sustainable finance frameworks, particularly taxonomies, transition plans, and disclosure regimes. Across jurisdictions, there has been a shift from conceptual development to deployment in financial markets and regulatory systems.
Taxonomies remain a foundational tool, with jurisdictions refining classification systems for sustainable activities. Some are building comprehensive green taxonomies, others expanding to transitional activities or sectoral pathways. IPSF members are increasingly considering how to embed dynamic elements, such as adjusting thresholds or conditional criteria linked to credible transition plans.
Transition plans are gaining traction both as regulatory tools and market expectations. Several members introduced supervisory guidance or requirements on transition planning in 2025. These seek to ensure corporate and financial actors set time‑bound, measurable steps to meet long‑term climate goals. Increasingly, transition planning approaches are being tailored to reflect both the size and capacity of companies (proportionality) and the specific characteristics of different sectors, particularly SMEs and high‑emitting sectors.
Disclosure frameworks are converging around international standards. Many jurisdictions have moved to adopt or align with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)’s global disclosure standards, alongside regional frameworks like the EU’s European sustainability reporting standards (ESRS). The report highlights efforts to tailor disclosures to national contexts and reduce duplication. Emerging data tools are also helping improve usability.
The report shows how IPSF members are addressing shared challenges, thereby avoiding fragmentation, preventing greenwashing, and enabling credible capital allocation aligned with real economy needs.
Transition finance for strategic sectors/critical raw materials
The 2025 report features a dedicated chapter on the role of sustainable finance in supporting the transition of strategic sectors and critical raw materials (CRMs). These sectors (such as metals, mining, and heavy industry) are indispensable for clean technologies but are also among the hardest to decarbonise. CRMs like lithium, nickel, and rare earth elements are vital inputs for electrification and digitalisation, yet raise environmental concerns.
This chapter addresses how sustainable finance frameworks can help steer investment into these complex areas. Key insights include
- sustainable finance is expanding beyond green‑labelled assets towards enabling real‑economy transitions in more difficult sectors. This requires clear definitions, sector‑specific guidance, and credible benchmarks
- transition frameworks must be both ambitious and realistic. Policymakers are balancing environmental goals with competitiveness and supply security
- financial frameworks are increasingly linked to industrial strategies. Taxonomies, transition plans, and financial incentives are being used to support public investment plans and resilient value chains
- differences remain in how jurisdictions approach strategic sectors, but shared experiences offer valuable learning. While full convergence is unlikely, common elements are emerging
This chapter reflects the fact that several IPSF members are increasingly exploring how sustainable finance frameworks can support the transition of hard‑to‑abate yet strategically important sectors. This includes developing tools that guide investment in credible transition pathways, particularly in sectors such as heavy industry and critical raw materials.
Looking ahead
The IPSF will continue this work in 2026, with further attention to transition frameworks, taxonomies, strategic sectors, and comparability. As frameworks evolve, comparability and real economy impact will be key. The 2025 report contributes to this effort by offering actionable examples from across jurisdictions, helping shape a more coherent global sustainable finance architecture.
Additional 2025 IPSF output: Biodiversity and DNSH
In addition to its annual report, the IPSF had two further key publications in 2025, contributing to important areas in the sustainable finance agenda: the integration of biodiversity into transition finance and the operationalisation of the do no significant harm (DNSH) principle in taxonomies.
Biodiversity and transition finance
The IPSF has published a new set of voluntary principles on integrating biodiversity and nature into transition planning and finance. Developed under the IPSF Biodiversity Working Group, co‑chaired by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, these “Transition finance plus” principles build on the IPSF’s 2022 climate‑focused transition finance report. The framework is designed to support policymakers, supervisors, and market actors in aligning transition finance with the goals of the Kunming‑Montreal global biodiversity framework. It sets out a coherent approach for embedding biodiversity considerations into corporate transition plans, financial instruments, and policy frameworks, bridging the gap between climate and nature priorities.
DNSH in taxonomies
A second technical note analyses how the DNSH principle, essential to preserving the environmental integrity of sustainable finance taxonomies, is currently defined and applied across various jurisdictions. Drawing on comparative analysis, the note identifies both common elements and divergences in DNSH criteria, safeguards, and legal references. It offers a set of practical principles aimed at improving implementation and supporting interoperability across taxonomies. The note underlines that robust DNSH provisions are fundamental to avoiding significant environmental trade‑offs, preventing greenwashing, and ensuring investor trust. It contributes to the IPSF’s work on taxonomies and to the broader implementation of the roadmap for advancing interoperability and comparability of sustainable finance taxonomies – the taxonomy roadmap – which was launched at COP29.
Related links
International Platform on Sustainable Finance
2025 annual report and other key deliverables
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