International Chamber of Commerce proposes new framework for sustainable trade finance

(Reuters, London, 10 November 2021) The standard setter for global trade finance flows has proposed a new set of rules to define sustainability in the trade finance arena, worth some $5 trillion a year, an executive told Reuters. While governments and business sectors move quickly to set guidelines for some types of sustainable finance, there are no standards for trade finance. Those rules would apply to a third of global trade. Agreeing on a common rulebook could help direct more trade flows toward efforts that reduce climate-warming emissions and that also meet the United Nations' development goals, said Andrew Wilson, policy director at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).