The latest issue of SEB’s Sustainable Finance Outlook presents innovative methods to assess and finance industrial decarbonisation
The September issue of SEB’s Sustainable Finance Outlook highlights the strategic value of cost-effective and flexible corporate net-zero transformation in a rapidly evolving policy and market landscape. The report also examines how recent shifts in U.S. policy impact the energy transition.
Lead Scientist and Senior Advisor Climate & Sustainable Finance Gregor Vulturius hosts a discussion with Samantha Arpas, Sustainable Finance Specialist, Peter Dahle, Managing Director at the American Chamber of Commerce in Sweden, and Erik Halldén, Sustainability Advisor, SEB Asia, on funding net-zero pathways and the impact of US policy shifts on the energy transition.
In the first eight months of 2025, the sustainable finance market recorded USD 1.45tn in new issuances, a modest 2.7% YOY decline. Hard-to-abate industries are seeing more meaningful issuance with China, the EU, and South Korea leading the way. Venture capital funding indicates what technologies are becoming commercially viable.
European Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB) KPI performance improved in 2024 with the on-track rate rising from 68 % to 74 %, based on SEB’s analysis. Global issuance declined to EUR 48.6 billion (-36% y-o-y), down from the EUR 122bn peak in 2022. A 25-basis point step-up remains the most common penalty, applied in approximately 53% of outstanding SLBs.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and tariffs roll back US clean energy policy by cutting key tax credits and boosting fossil fuels—likely cutting 23% of new solar and wind capacity by 2035. It also threatens clean tech investment and manufacturing, while leaving the US reliant on China’s clean technology supply chains.
Marginal Abatement Cost Curves help businesses reach net-zero efficiently by ranking decarbonisation measures by cost and impact. They are especially useful for hard-to-abate industries like steel in identifying viable technology and flexible investment plans, and help capital goods companies in evaluating how decarbonisation affects input costs.
Geopolitics, trade frictions, and U.S. policy shifts are disrupting clean energy, delaying projects and raising costs. Europe is responding with industrial safeguards, while the Nordics’ stability, ESG credibility, and critical mineral reserves make them a key anchor in the long-term energy transition.
Lina Apsheva, a sustainability communications officer at SEB, talks to specialists in the field to help you navigate the sustainable finance market. Lina and her guests discuss recent developments and forecasts for the future, and dive into specific themes within sustainable finance.
SEB flagship report Sustainable Finance Outlook provides insights and market intelligence for navigating the sustainability transition. The report includes regular updates on energy transition investment, sustainable finance markets and regulations as well as topical research.
If you have any questions, please contact:
Gregor Vulturius, PhD
Lead Scientist and Senior Advisor
Climate & Sustainable Finance