The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet plans to mobilise and invest $7.5bn in renewable energy projects in developing countries over the next five years. The initiative was founded by the Ikea Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Bezos Earth Fund to access free or cheap funding from charitable and government sources and to reduce investment risk by involving the World Bank, other multilateral development banks and private-sector lenders. During the group's first five-year plan period, it mobilised $7.8bn of financing to improve energy access for almost 240 million people. It is currently developing battery storage projects in more than 20 countries, including the first utility-scale project of its type in India.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Green Climate Fund have partnered on a $634m initiative to expand green finance across 13 countries, from Morocco to the Kyrgyz Republic. The GCF will contribute $200m in concessional loans, grants and technical support. The programme is designed to ease access to climate finance for households, small and medium-sized enterprises and corporations, with an emphasis on regional and gender inclusion. Financial institutions will be offered incentives and training to integrate green lending into their operations.

The African Development Bank has established a strategic partnership with Michael Bloomberg, Chairman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, to attract greater private capital for the continent's development. The initiative will focus on job creation, particularly for women and young people. The Africa Investment Forum will help link investors with high-impact projects.

US asset manager T. Rowe Price has launched the Emerging Markets Blue Economy Bond Strategy, which aims to mobilise as much as $500m in private capital for water resource projects in developing countries. The initiative, categorised under article 9 of the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, has attracted commitments exceeding $200m from investors including the World Bank's International Finance Corporation, water technology group Xylem and impact platform Builders Vision. The strategy will invest in corporate bonds that support clean water access, healthy marine habitats and climate adaptation, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 14.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has extended a $10m EU-backed financing package to Quds Bank in the West Bank. Of the total, $2m will go towards supporting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises run by women. The initiative includes technical assistance and investment grants, with an emphasis on sustainable energy, resource efficiency and improved access to finance for women entrepreneurs. The EBRD has also issued a $5m loan to the Jordan-based Housing Bank for Trade and Finance to fund small and medium-sized businesses in the West Bank, particularly those run by women or operating outside Palestinian urban centres.

The United for Impact coalition, a group of 65 impact investment fund managers from 17 EU countries, has called on the European Commission to create a separate impact/solutions product category in its revision of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The Commission's advisory group, the Platform on Sustainable Finance, has proposed three categories: sustainable, transition and ESG funds. The impact fund group argues that adding a separate classification for investment strategies with measurable results would help attract more capital. It says new European impact investment rose from €80bn in 2022 to €190bn last year and that venture capital and private equity are needed to reach the €800bn in annual funding required to meet the EU's 2030 climate targets.

The European Commission has announced a one-year delay to the introduction of the EU Deforestation Regulation, citing the need for technology readiness. The regulation was initially due to take effect in 2021, requiring companies trading in commodities including palm oil, soy and coffee to certify that their supply chains were free from deforestation after 2020. Its introduction has already been delayed once, with a proposed benchmarking system to classify countries by deforestation risk rejected by the European Parliament.