North American sustainable-finance issuance suffered due to ESG backlash and regulatory tensions, but Canada remained resilient and adaptation finance emerged.
Last year, sustainable-finance issuance in North America fell off a cliff.
According to Moody’s, issuance fell from 2024’s $124 billion to $67 billion—a far cry from the 2021 peak of $175 billion. Almost all the drop was attributable to the US, where prominent banks followed the six big players that withdrew from the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance beginning in December 2024. This reflects ongoing polarization and growing political scrutiny of ESG, as well as banks shifting focus to areas such as energy security. The sharp drop in ESG issuance was reflected in the paucity of North American entries Global Finance received for this year’s Sustainable Finance Awards.
The pattern looks set to continue into 2026 as the ESG pushback persists. Sustainable Fitch, a Fitch Solutions company, says, “We expect investors to continue to face challenges navigating the North American ESG regulatory environment as diverging pressures persist between state and federal requirements in the US.”
The one bright spot is Canada—admittedly a much smaller player than the US—where leading banks continue to prioritize ESG and increase issuance. “There may be some momentum in late 2026 as Canada finalizes its new green and transition taxonomy,” Sustainable Fitch forecasts.
Generally, the group anticipates that adaptation finance will be a major growth driver “as global attention shifts from mitigation to resilience amid increasingly frequent and severe extreme-weather events, shaping investment strategies and policy frameworks.” Meanwhile, multinational asset management company Schroders anticipates “an increased emphasis on demonstrating the returns and value of sustainability efforts.”
Best Bank for Sustainable Finance
Circular Economy Commitment
Best Bank for Sustaining Communities
Best Bank for Sustainability Transparency
Best Bank for Blue Bonds (New for 2026)
Best Bank for Social Bonds
Best Bank for Sustainability Bonds
Scotiabank
Scotiabank’s deep and extensive commitment to sustainable finance made it an obvious winner of the above eight awards.
In just one of the bank’s circular-economy projects, Scotiabank served as green-loan structuring agent for Diaco’s inaugural green loan. Diaco is a key player in Colombia’s steel industry, and its business model is built on the circularity of steel, extending environmental, economic, and social value throughout the product life cycle.
For blue bonds, Scotiabank helped the Mexican government to issue a blue bond that provides funding for sustainable fishing and aquaculture. Mexico’s fishing industry is one of the largest in the world, making the protection of its coastlines and waterways key. This blue bond, issued in December 2024, amounts to 4.5 billion Mexican pesos (about US$218 million).
In terms of sustainability transparency, the bank says, “We are committed, through our annual Sustainability Report and Public Accountability Statement, to present our activity and performance on environment, social and governance topics that we believe matter to our stakeholders.” Scotiabank releases an annual Sustainability Report and an annual Climate Report, which, since 2026, has been part of the Sustainability Report.
In 2021, as part of its commitment to sustaining communities, the bank launched the ScotiaRISE initiative, a 10-year 500 million Canadian dollar (about US$364.8 million ) community-investment program to strengthen economic resilience. Between 2021 and 2025, the program invested more than CA$210 million across 300 organizations. It also launched the Scotiabank Women Initiative, which it says “aims to help women clients increase their economic and professional opportunities and succeed on their own terms as they grow their businesses, advance their careers and invest in their futures.”
Sustainable Finance Deal of the Year: Nautilus Solar Energy Long-Term Debt Facility
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) closed a $275 million long-term debt facility with Nautilus Solar Energy. This financing enables the development of more than 25 community solar projects across five states (Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island).
The projects add more than 130 MW of renewable capacity to local power grids, delivering clean, affordable energy to more than 11,000 households and small businesses. This expansion boosts Nautilus Solar’s operating and managed portfolio to 700 MW and paves the way for future debt issuances together.
SMBC continues to be a leader in sustainable finance and says, “This transaction is an achievement that reflects both SMBC’s and Nautilus’ deep commitment to sustainability and innovation, making it a standout candidate for recognition in the renewable-energy sector,” adding that it is “a transformative milestone in advancing clean energy access across the United States.”
Best Platform/Technology Facilitating Sustainable Finance
Best Bank for Green Bonds
Best Bank for Transition/Sustainability-Linked Loans
CIBC Capital Markets
In a field where jargon and complexity are commonplace and can inhibit issuance and business growth, CIBC’s Sustainability Issuance Framework, unveiled in March 2024, clearly outlines the eligible issuance categories. It defines 16 distinct areas eligible for bonds and loans, including clean energy and clean fuels (nuclear power is included here, with CIBC the only Canadian bank to do so), pollution prevention and control, green buildings, the promotion of biodiversity, circularity, and affordable housing.
This comprehensive platform has helped CIBC Capital Markets raise US$199.4 billion toward its 2030 target by the end of last year. CIBC has been involved in 303 projects across solar, wind, and green buildings. It has also helped CIBC Capital Markets become a leader in green bonds, issuing its first, for US$500 million, in 2020, and another in January 2024 for €500 million in euro-denominated bonds with a three-year maturity.
In Barbados, CIBC Capital Markets served as sustainability structuring agent alongside CIBC Caribbean, which acted as lead arranger, in one of the first sovereign sustainability loans in the Caribbean.
These roles are part of a broader strategy to mobilize US$300 billion in sustainable-finance projects by 2030.
Best Bank for Sustainable Infrastructure/Project Finance
Societe Generale
As part of its broader sustainability strategy, Societe Generale has focused on sustainability-linked infrastructure and projects, demonstrating the emphasis in 2025. It acted as joint lead arranger of a $424 million green-loan project financing for International Transport Service (ITS), a terminal operator in Long Beach, California.
ITS operates in the San Pedro Bay harbor, the primary gateway for North American trans-Pacific trade and the main US destination for Asian imports. Societe Generale has served as green loan coordinator to advance the University of Iowa’s ESG strategy (€671 million). Last year, the bank was involved in debt financing (for $210 million) of a voluntary carbon-removal afforestation project with Chestnut Carbon, a nature-based carbon-removal entity.
The financing will enable Chestnut to construct Project Megaton, a reforestation/decarbonization project covering some 67,000 acres in the southeastern US.