The Global Green Finance Index 16 - Supplement "Transition Finance In China"

The sixteenth edition of the Global Green Finance Index (GGFI 16) was published on 30 October 2025. GGFI 16 evaluates green finance offerings from 94 major financial centres around the world. The GGFI serves as a valuable reference into the development of green finance for policy and investment decision-makers.

There has been a continuing drop in confidence in the development of green finance in financial centres. In the last edition of the index, the average rating was down 5.91%. In this edition the average rating is down 3.08% compared with GGFI 15, with all but three centres dropping in the ratings. This reflects a net drop of 8.83% over the last 12 months. This may reflect changes in the outlook for the economy generally, and lack of certainty about the direction of US policy.

This is marked by the difference in the change in the quality ratings as opposed to the depth ratings, with quality ratings falling 6.64% over the year, while depth ratings fell 11.05%. This suggests major concerns about the amount of green finance being transacted across the world.

We continue to see strong performance from Western European centres, which reflects their history of developing green finance products and expertise. US centres perform less well in GGFI 16, with a notable exception in San Francisco. The general commitment of a city or jurisdiction to sustainability is a strong influence on the depth and quality of green finance in a financial centre.

Among those responding to the GGFI survey, Green Bonds, Sustainable Infrastructure Finance, and Green Loans are rated as the areas of green finance with most impact, while Renewable Energy Investment, Sustainable Infrastructure Finance, and ESG Analytics are seen as the areas of most interest.

Policy and Regulatory Frameworks, Climate Change, and Public Awareness are listed by respondents as the major drivers of green finance. These underline the importance of regulatory frameworks and demand in green finance.

In the supplement to this edition of the GGFI, the Green Finance Forum of 60, based in Shanghai, provide an update on the development of transition finance globally but with a particular focus on China.

Index Results

• Zurich overtook London to take first place in the index, while Singapore and Geneva retained third and fourth positions. Zurich’s quality rating fell by less than London in GGFI 16.
• Amsterdam, Paris, and Brussels entered the top 10 in this edition of the index, replacing Montreal, Oslo, and Toronto.
• Western European centres take nine of the top 10 places. Singapore is the only Asia/Pacific centre in this leading group. No US centres feature in the top 10.
• The margins separating centres at the top of the index are small. Among the top 10 centres the spread of ratings has widened from 13 points out of 1,000 in GGFI 15 to 24 points in this edition.
• Thirteen centres rose 10 or more places in the rankings. Seven centres fell 10 or more places