Greening the Financial System: Exploring the Ways Forward - A Briefing

This document is a briefing from an October 2017 roundtable on “Greening the Financial System,” held alongside the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings to review lessons from recent green finance initiatives and highlight opportunities, particularly in China and digital finance. It outlines progress to date, references the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, and distils key messages: strong governance drives market growth; definitions of green finance are broadening towards Sustainable Development Goal–aligned activities; and financial technology can expand access, verify claims, and shape consumer behaviour. It details suggested market and policy actions for green digital finance and summarises China’s policy framework, instruments, pilot zones, and international spillovers, including through the Belt and Road Initiative.