While the summer hopefully afforded everyone an opportunity to enjoy some downtime, have a bbq and tune into the amazing sporting spectacles on show, the run-up to the end of the year holds many things to look forward to.

The first being our Sustainable Finance Conference, which is now officially open for registration. This year’s conference theme is inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, as we believe achieving sustainability is a unique journey. Just like Odysseus navigating perilous challenges to reach the calm shore, the path to sustainability has not been straightforward—and likely never will be. It requires us to collaborate, sail through challenges, and build an ecosystem that works for all of us. So be sure to join us on 7 November in whatever capacity you can.

We are also delighted to be sponsoring the upcoming City and Financial Global event “Making the UK a Global Hub for Transition Finance”. Taking place on 10 October 2024, the agenda looks at advancing transition finance through key policy frameworks, market innovations, and comparative analysis of financing options. The agenda includes insights into successful case studies, best practices, and perspectives from various stakeholders, aiming to highlight the UK’s role in scaling up transition finance solutions and addressing current challenges and opportunities. We would be delighted to see as many of you there as possible. Be sure to register using the unique link to access a 30% discount.

As the turbulent weather of the past few weeks reminds us, climate change waits for no-one. It is therefore no surprise that transition remains high on our agenda and our dedicated Task Force has been deliberating away over the summer to formulate a proposal to scale up transition finance in the loan market. Your responses to our market survey, generating 100+ pages of comments from over 90 global institutions, have been enormously helpful in advancing this work. A huge thank you to everyone who took part – your input is essential to ensure any project we implement is meaningful, impactful and - most importantly – reflects what the market needs.

Shades of green is an ever-expansive theme, and in July we were delighted to host a roundtable of industry experts discussing the importance of the blue economy. The amount of work already undertaken in this area is extraordinary – see my article on Financing the Blue Economy for more information.

Finally, I’d love to hear your feedback. Horizons has had a fantastic first year, but as we look to 2025, I want to make it even better. Please let me know what you’d like us to start, stop, or continue. This publication is for you, and can only be improved with your input. All feedback is welcome, so please be sure to contact me at gemma.lawrence-pardew@lma.eu.com. Let your voice make the change.