The latest issue of SEB's The Green Bond report takes an in-depth look at the European Commission's recent proposals to reduce regulation and increasing investments into clean technology. The report also discusses rising geopolitical tensions and shifting investment priorities and how they have impacted the sustainable finance market. Despite the changes in regulation and the political turmoil that caused it, we still expect global renewable energy investments to double by 2030. 

"The clean energy transition cannot be stopped, and global investment is still hitting records" says Thomas Thygesen, Head of Strategy and Sustainability in SEB Equity Research. "However, it is not happening fast enough from a climate perspective, and now geopolitical fragmentation opens for a multi-speed transition where the US in particular falls behind." 

"Clean energy technology is improving and getting cheaper in the same way as computer technology has done", Thygesen continues. "It will be clearly superior to outdated fossil energy technology within a few years. Europe's political leaders appear to understand this and are more likely to follow China's lead into a faster transition" 

The report also features an update on the sustainable finance market.  

"Shifting political priorities are making it exceedingly difficult for sustainable finance market actors to meet their climate commitments" says Gregor Vulturius, Lead Scientist and Advisor at Climate & Sustainable Finance at SEB. "Despite these challenges, the market for sustainable debt remains resilient, with USD 160bn in sustainable bonds issued in the first two months of 2025." 

The report also contains a comprehensive discussion about the recently announced Omnibus Bill and what the changes will mean going forward for corporates and financial institutions. We also summarize and discuss the overlap to the Omnibus bill of the EU Platform on Sustainable Finance reports that serve as guidance to the EU Commission on their simplification agenda. The report also presents key insights into the EU Commissions new Clean Industry Deal to leverage more than EUR 100bn for clean technologies in the EU.  

About The Green Bond report
SEB, which together with the World Bank developed the green bond concept in 2007/2008, publishes the research publication The Green Bond 5-6 times a year. It strives to bring readers the latest insight into the world of sustainable finance through various themes. Even though the report covers all kinds of products and developments in the sustainable finance market, we have decided to keep its historic name - The Green Bond - as a tribute to our role as a pioneer of the green bond market. You can find The Green Bond report at sebgroup.com