Sustainable Finance Observatory

The Sustainable Finance Observatory is an international independent think tank  specialized in unlocking private finance for a sustainable transition. Indeed, private capital accounts for 70 to 90% of the financing requirements to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Since 2025, our organization is the result of the merger of the international think tank 2° Investing Initiative - 2DII, which has been a pioneering organization in supporting private financiers on climate alignment and impact investing since 2012 and the “Observatoire de la finance durable” set up by the French Minister of Economy and Finance in 2019 to monitor the ESG commitments and the climate alignment of the Paris Financial Center. The President of our board is Mr François Gemenne, lead co-author of the 6th IPCC report. 

Our mission is to encourage change in financial practices and to develop financing solutions to support a sustainable, low-carbon economy. Our activities aim to remove barriers to private financing around three fundamental pillars: Transparency, Impact and Bankable Sustainable Solutions. 

We operate across the entire finance value chain.  

• On the supply for finance side (transitioning finance) 

• Trough our Transparency pillar, we monitor and evaluate financial institutions’ practices and commitments​ (ESG, netzero) through data and analysis work. 

• Through our Impact pillar, we assess the tangible effects of financial products on the ecological and social transition in the real economy (in particular related to retail investment). 

• On the demand side (financing the transition), our Bankable Sustainable Solutions pillar focuses on developing bankability models and financing solutions based on financial engineering. The aim is to scale up the volume of project portfolios aligned with investor’s risk/return/impact profiles in key areas for climate change mitigation and adaptation, including biodiversity, sustainable cities, energy renovation of buildings, climate projects in low- and middle-income countries. 

We carry out a wide range of activities, including conducting research, analyzing data and developing tools, providing expertise and capacity building, coordinating and participating in multi-stakeholder coalitions, and conducting advocacy campaigns. 

Our work relies on robust financial expertise supported by former experienced bankers, sustainable finance analysts and lawyers in our team and by a Scientific and Expert Committee composed of some fifty senior sustainable finance academics and practitioners.