Launch event

On December 4, 2021, the International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF) and the Institute of International Finance Forum (IFF) jointly released the Global Green Finance Development Index (GGFDI) and country rankings. This ranking aims to provide policymakers, financial practitioners, businesses and academic circles with up-to-date, comparable and consistent information on green finance developments in different countries and regions, which is of vital importance in calling for joint efforts at the national and international levels. China ranks fourth in this year’s rankings. 

Project background

The Global Green Finance Development Index and country rankings are based on the Global Green Finance Development Index and Progress Report Project, carried out by IIGF and IFF. The project consists of an overview report and country rankings, and the results of the project will be published in the IFF flagship report. The overview part introduces the development of global green finance, summarizes the characteristics of green finance development in different regions, and discusses the challenges of promoting global green finance and the policy priorities in dealing with the challenges. 

Research Results

Global Green Finance Country Ranking covers the world’s 55 largest economies based on the World Bank’s 2019 GDP purchasing power parity ranking (the top 50 countries and five countries highly typical in economic, political and geographic characteristics were chosen). According to the overall GGFDI score, France ranks first, China ranks fourth, and the US tenth. The top 10 countries are in the following order: France, The United Kingdom, Germany, China, the Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and the United States (see table below for the full ranking result). 

The co-chief economist of IFF, Zhuang Juzhong, said that as a response to climate change and a critical step in promoting sustainable growth, green finance had experienced rapid development in recent years. But still, it faces many problems and challenges, such as unbalanced development among countries, low product diversity, and inconsistency for definition and disclosure standards. It is without a doubt, addressing these issues and challenges requires sustained policy efforts. Therefore, we sincerely hope the Global Green Finance Development Index provides some valuable information for policymakers. 

Professor Wang Yao, the Director-General of the IIGF, said that the Global Green Finance Development Index has 53 indicators measuring green finance development in three aspects, policy and strategy, products and markets, and international cooperation. It measures the government ambitions, actions, and effects of the green finance market at the national level. The selection of indicators considers the principles of fairness and comparability as much as possible under the current data availability. This is the first year for the publication of this index and ranking results, and GGFDI will continue to be improved in the future as global green finance develops and data possibilities increase. 

The finance sector plays a vital role in supporting climate governance, implementing climate cooperation, and coping with climate change. In particular, it is widely acknowledged that green finance should be emphasized when it comes to achieving emission reduction targets, building market mechanisms, and deepening global cooperation, which can help with climate change. By establishing a global green finance development index and evaluation system, the Global Green Finance Development Index and Progress Report aim to promote global action on green finance, deepen international cooperation, contribute to the pace of global action to climate change and sustainable development.

Table 1. Global Green Finance Development Index and Country Rankings, All Countries  
OverallPolicy and StrategyMarket and ProductInternational Cooperation
France1212
UK2164
Germany31723
China4385
Netherlands59311
Japan65111
Sweden710713
Denmark811520
Spain912106
USA1038417
Norway1128129
Austria1222926
Italy13191316
Singapore14131525
Mexico1531198
Belgium16161821
Chile17142712
Switzerland18202214
Ireland19151631
Hungary2041734
Portugal2162029
South Korea2272524
Brazil238347
Canada24412110
Colombia25292319
Poland26231433
South Africa27213218
New Zealand28362427
Greece29322630
Philippines30272932
India31462815
Indonesia32243623
Thailand33183335
Malaysia34373040
Russia35343541
Argentina36304128
Czech37333147
Peru38353736
Australia39513822
Romania40264342
Egypt41474238
UAE42434050
Vietnam43483946
Israel44404445
Nigeria45444639
Kazakhstan46254949
Bangladesh47424844
Turkey48524737
Ukraine49394552
Sri Lanka50495043
Saudi Arabia51505148
Pakistan52455251
Iran53545353
Iraq54555454
Algeria55535555

Souce:IFF Global Finance and Development Report 2021