Key points
- Sustainable finance policymaking accelerated in 2025, with 143 new measures adopted.
- Disclosure remained dominant, accounting for 44% of new policies.
- Carbon pricing gained ground, with 18 new measures introduced.
- The focus is shifting from new rules to implementation, especially in developing economies.
Sustainable finance policymaking continued to expand in 2025, even as regulatory approaches diverged across major economies.
Across 35 economies representing 93% of global GDP, 143 new sustainable finance policies were adopted in 2025, up from 99 in 2024. That brought the total tracked in UNCTAD's database to 804 policies.
The policy focus is also changing. Policymakers are moving beyond setting rules towards implementation, enforcement and the use of market-based tools.
Disclosure remains dominant as the focus shifts to implementation
Governments adopted 63 sustainability disclosure measures in 2025, about 44% of all new policies. That was more than twice the number introduced in 2024.
Many jurisdictions are aligning their disclosure requirements with standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board. The aim is to make sustainability information more comparable and credible across markets.
But implementation can be difficult, particularly in developing economies. Companies and regulators can face high compliance costs, gaps in sustainability data and limited technical capacity.
The report says frameworks need to be internationally credible while reflecting national priorities and capacities. Capacity-building, better data and tools that reduce reporting costs will be particularly important for developing economies.
Regional approaches are increasingly diverging
Different regions are taking different paths. European jurisdictions introduced 52 new measures in 2025, even as the European Union also moved to simplify parts of its regulatory framework.
Economies in Asia-Pacific introduced 40 measures, down from 49 in 2024. The region is increasingly focused on implementing and integrating existing systems rather than introducing new ones. In Africa, the four economies tracked introduced 20 new measures, often developing disclosure frameworks, taxonomies and carbon markets at the same time.
This creates a more complex global system. As national approaches diverge, the report says maintaining compatibility between frameworks will become increasingly important.
Carbon pricing is becoming a more important policy tool
18 carbon pricing policies were adopted in 2025, accounting for more than one in 8 new measures. Carbon markets are also moving from pilot schemes towards more operational and wider-ranging systems.
China expanded its emissions trading system to cover the cement, steel and aluminium sectors. This added around 1,500 entities and roughly 3 billion tonnes of additional covered emissions. Brazil laid the groundwork for a national emissions trading system, while carbon market measures accounted for half of Mexico’s new policies in 2025.
The report identifies carbon pricing and transition finance as increasingly important tools for decarbonization, including in industries where cutting emissions is particularly difficult.
The next challenge is making the rules work
Sustainable finance policymaking is entering a more mature phase. The challenge is increasingly about effective implementation rather than simply introducing more rules.
For developing economies, the report highlights five main challenges:
- High compliance costs
- Gaps in data and reporting
- Limited access to sustainable finance
- Regulatory fragmentation
- Limited implementation capacity
Addressing these constraints, while keeping national frameworks sufficiently compatible with international standards, will be critical if sustainable finance is to support investment and long-term development.