LeapFrog Investments launches Transition Ledger 2026 on climate innovation in emerging markets

As climate innovation moves to emerging markets, India is leading the way with locally rooted solutions across clean energy, e-mobility, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable infrastructure. LeapFrog Investments’ Transition Ledger 2026 captures this shift, showing how capital invested in local realities can scale impact and unlock inclusive, green growth. A must-read for anyone curious about the future of climate investing. Aakriti Bamniyal Mudit Johari Sumeet Shetty Niharika Bisht

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 We’re proud to see our member, LeapFrog Investments, release The Transition Ledger 2026, a powerful collection of insights from global climate and investment leaders, including Mike Berners-Lee, Steve Howard, Damilola Ogunbiyi, and Nakul Zaveri, Partner and Global Co-Head of Climate Investment Strategy at LeapFrog Investments and Executive Council Member at Impact Investors Council (IIC). The report explores how emerging markets are at the center of the world’s climate transition, uncovering opportunities where growth, innovation, and impact converge. It highlights how India, Africa, and Southeast Asia are driving: • The shift in global energy demand toward the Global South • The rise of “grounded innovation” - scalable, context-driven climate solutions • The evolution from climate finance to climate deployment capital At IIC, we applaud LeapFrog’s continued thought leadership in advancing the global dialogue on sustainable, inclusive growth and their deep commitment to embedding impact in the heart of investment strategy. 📖 Read The Transition Ledger 2026 here: https://lnkd.in/gAAMQ5Yd

🌍 “Climate Investments are Not Charity, they Can Be Very Profitable: Karan Mehta” Green Frontier Capital Karan Mehta’s recent article in SustainabilityNext challenges a common myth: that climate-focused investments are acts of goodwill. In reality, they’re among the most strategic and profitable opportunities of our time. 💡 The global transition to a low-carbon economy isn’t just a moral choice, it’s a market transformation. Those who invest early in clean tech, carbon solutions, and sustainable infrastructure are positioning themselves for long-term gains. What stood out for me: ✅ Climate risk = Financial risk, ignoring it costs more. ✅ Policy, innovation, and finance must align to scale solutions. ✅ Patience + performance = the winning formula for climate capital. The message is clear: Sustainability is not a side project; it’s the future of profitable investing. 📖 Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/guPNVSMk 📩 Subscribe to the SN Newsletter for urban transformation stories: https://lnkd.in/dKJs_B43 💡 Share your mobility innovation with us and get featured: benedict@sustainabilitynext.in #ClimateFinance #SustainableInvesting #GreenEconomy #ImpactInvestment #CleanTech #ClimateAction #Sustainability #ESG #ProfitWithPurpose #FutureOfFinance  

The future of climate tech isn't just about saving the planet - it's about creating massive opportunities for investors and innovators alike. I've been diving deep into the green finance space lately, and here's what's catching my attention: 🚀 Carbon capture technologies are finally becoming economically viable 💡 Green bonds are hitting record highs - $500B+ in 2023 alone ⚡ Energy storage solutions are getting cheaper by the day 🌱 ESG-focused funds are outperforming traditional investments The math is simple: companies solving climate problems are becoming the most profitable investments. We're not just talking about feel-good returns anymore - we're talking about serious money. Three sectors I'm watching closely: • Renewable energy infrastructure • Sustainable agriculture tech • Circular economy platforms The companies getting funding now will be tomorrow's climate giants. Early movers are already seeing 10x returns in some cases. What climate tech trends are you most excited about? Drop your thoughts below - I'd love to hear what's on your radar! #ClimateVenture #GreenFinance #ESGInvesting #CleanTech #SustainableInvesting #ClimateChange #Innovation #VentureCapital

🌱💡 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬, 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐒𝐆 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 Across India, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, new frameworks, debt-for-nature swaps, and tokenized assets are channeling capital into resilience, clean energy, and biodiversity. In this powerful piece, Gokul Shekar explores the rise of climate finance tools, their real-world applications in supply chains, and the challenges and opportunities for SMEs. 👉 Read here: https://lnkd.in/djRBiGvB #ClimateFinance #ESG #Sustainability #GreenBonds #CarbonCredits #illuminemVoices 🌐 News: https://illuminem.com/ 📊 Data: https://lnkd.in/eHe8axSA

🌍 Thrilled to see illuminem spotlight my latest article on regenerative agriculture as a cornerstone of sustainable finance! 🌱 From India’s revitalized farmlands to Africa’s resilient harvests, regenerative practices are transforming soil into a climate solution, aligning with ESG goals and securing food systems. With innovative finance tools like carbon credits and blended models, we can scale these solutions across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. Dive into the full piece to explore how we can invest in a greener, more resilient future: What are your thoughts on using regenerative agriculture to drive climate resilience? Let’s discuss how to amplify these solutions! #RegenerativeAgriculture #SustainableFinance #ClimateResilience #ESG #FoodSecurity #Sustainability #ClimateChange #Biodiversity #GreenFuture #illuminemVoices Kian Boon (John) Teng, Alex Hong, illuminem, Andrea Gori, Christopher Caldwell, Diego Balverde, Festus Kiplagat, James Balzer, MSusDev MPP, Ikechi Agbugba, PhD, MBA, FHEA, Gillian Marcelle, PhD, Andrea Bonime-Blanc, JD/PhD, Jessica Burley, Agata Delmaczyńska, Dr. Venera N. Anderson (PhD, MBA, MSc).

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗖𝗚'𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝘂𝘆 "𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙" 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. After diving into BCG's latest analysis and PwC's sustainability reporting survey, here's what's actually happening in our space: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸: ✅ $73B in climate PE transactions in 2024 (down from 2021 peaks, but still massive) ✅ Climate fundraising up 20% while overall PE fundraising fell 18% ✅ 55% of low-carbon tech is already cost-competitive ✅ Companies pursuing green growth achieved higher revenue valuations 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁... The winners aren't selling "climate premiums" anymore. They're delivering products with genuine co-benefits - better performance, lower costs, improved efficiency - that happen to be green. Think Tesla's acceleration advantage, or heat pumps that cut both emissions AND energy bills. While some regulators are pulling back (hello, SEC climate rules), 66% of companies are INCREASING sustainability reporting investments. Only 7% report decreased pressure from stakeholders. The smart money follows substance, not just regulatory tailwinds. The disconnect? Companies see real value beyond compliance - 28% gaining significant insights from their sustainability data. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 & 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: 🎯 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: Stop positioning as "sustainable alternative." Build genuinely superior products that customers want regardless of environmental benefits. The green impact becomes your competitive moat, not your selling point. 🎯 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: Look for startups solving real problems with climate solutions as a byproduct. Five sectors are particularly hot: energy storage, energy contracting, biofuels, waste-to-energy, and grid modernization. From my experience leading investments across 6 continents in 40+ climate startups, the winners during these "correction" periods are those who focus on unit economics and genuine market pull, not just regulatory tailwinds. The climate transition isn't slowing down - it's just getting more pragmatic. What are you seeing in your corner of climate tech? Drop your thoughts below. 👇 #ClimateInvesting #SustainabilityReporting #ClimateTech #VentureCapital #ESG

For generations, we've operated within an economic system that feels fundamentally backward. We celebrate quarterly earnings driven by extraction, yet we struggle to place a value on a thriving forest. We incentivize efficiency that depletes resources, but we call the cost of restoring them an "externality." Does this make sense? Our global economy is brilliant at measuring what we take, but dangerously blind when it comes to what we restore. This has led to a profound crisis of confidence in our sustainable finance markets. Billions are earmarked for climate action, yet the system for verifying real-world impact is archaic, opaque, and susceptible to greenwashing. This isn't just a market inefficiency; it's a systemic failure that is costing us our planet. I founded KnowCents on the conviction that we can, and must, build a better economic engine. One that is not extractive, but regenerative. We are architecting the foundational infrastructure for this new economy. Our mission is to replace opaque, narrative-based claims with verifiable, data-backed proof of impact. Imagine a world where: 🌱 A farmer's efforts to increase carbon in their soil are as valuable and tradable as the crops they grow. 🌳 A conservation project generates high-integrity, liquid assets based on the provable health of the ecosystem it protects. 💧 Capital flows directly to projects that can mathematically prove they are making our world healthier. This is the future we are building. At KnowCents, we are developing a decentralized technology stack, an "Integrity Pipeline", that transforms real-world regenerative actions into high-integrity digital assets with an immutable, on-chain audit trail. We are moving the market from "project-based" stories to "data-based" truth. This is how we solve the crisis of confidence. This is how we unlock the trillions waiting to be deployed into credible climate solutions. This is how we build an economy where doing good finally makes cents. We're at the beginning of this journey and are looking to connect with impact investors, sustainability leaders, and project developers who believe in a future where our financial health is directly tied to the health of our planet. What regenerative action would you want to see properly valued and funded? #RegenerativeFinance #ReFi #ImpactInvesting #ESG #Sustainability #KnowCents #FutureOfFinance #ClimateAction #Founder

🌎 Seven of Nine Planetary Boundaries Breached: What Role Should Investors Play? The latest “Planetary Health Check 2025,” confirms what many feared, seven of nine planetary boundaries have now been breached. From climate change and biosphere integrity to freshwater use and, for the first time, ocean acidification. Our global economy is eating into the very systems that sustain life. For investment managers, this isn’t an abstract scientific warning. It’s a capital markets signal. Ecosystem collapse translates into food insecurity, supply chain fragility, stranded assets, and geopolitical instability. Risk management and fiduciary duty now require integrating planetary boundaries into investment decision-making. What does that look like in practice? 🔸 Private Credit with Purpose: Financing sustainable infrastructure, clean water access, and housing that strengthens communities rather than depletes ecosystems. 🔸 Regenerative Equity Strategies: Backing companies that restore biodiversity, reduce nitrogen and phosphorus flows, and decarbonize their supply chains. 🔸 Blended Finance Platforms: Leveraging public capital to de-risk large-scale projects in renewable energy, conservation, and resilient agriculture. 🔸 Tokenized Real Assets: Using blockchain to create transparent, investable vehicles in reforestation, sustainable fisheries, and carbon integrity markets. At the same time, new business models are emerging. Asset managers tying performance fees to measurable sustainability outcomes. Fintech platforms embedding planetary health metrics into portfolio analytics. Nature-based carbon markets built on trust and verification. The planetary boundaries framework is a fiduciary map showing where risk is rising and where capital must flow to preserve long-term prosperity. As investors we have a choice, to finance yesterday’s growth, or underwrite tomorrow’s resilience.

Huge thanks AXA Research Fund and CEPR - Centre for Economic Policy Research for inviting me to this great conference at Paris School of Economics on a sensitive topic: “Addressing the #Risks and Responses to #Climate #Overshoot”. Congrats to all speakers for highly stimulating debates. Happy to share below (and in comments) a few take-aways, of course non-exhaustive: 🔵 In an increasingly transactional world, with less global #governance, we need new pathways to drive #sustainability action. “Coalitions of the willing” are key for #Europe to move forward. 🔵 #Carbon & #biodiversity come as a bundle, requiring specific frameworks for analysis and action. We need #science (including economic & social sciences!) to better understand their links. 🔵 Continuous #dialogue between all #stakeholders is of crucial importance, mixing researchers, policymakers, businesses & civil society to elaborate and implement joint solutions. 🔵 Beyond #ESG reporting, companies must focus on impact by fostering market acceptance of sustainability innovations, identifying real market opportunities and scaling them into tangible #business. 🔵 While companies delay the shift towards sustainable business models, “sunk costs” increase risks of stranded assets, which will abruptly loose value when #transition becomes inevitable. 🔵 Beyond #AI, #GreenTech is a key front in the technological race among the world’s leading economies: #resource efficiency & #decarbonization are drivers to strengthen sovereignty. 🔵 Central #banks now acknowledge that climate change poses direct risks to their core mandate of ensuring financial stability. They boost collaborative work in the framework of #NGFS. 🔵 Climate & nature #finance are still far from scale: for carbon, annual flows reach one trillion Euros, vs an estimated need of 10 trillions / year, according to the Climate Policy Initiative. 🔵 Sustainability & trade are inseparable. With the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism #CBAM, carbon-intensive imports will face higher costs to prevent unfair competition. 🔵 Carbon offsetting (#compensation) comes with large controversies. It cannot replace insetting (internal transformation of a company to cut / remove emissions within its value chain). 🔵 Although part of the long-term solution towards #NetZero, technological solutions for carbon removal from the atmosphere are still early-stage, expensive and not available at scale. 🔵 #Nature is key: photosynthesis is what is capturing #carbon at scale. Hence the need for healthy #ecosystems and more efforts to accelerate Nature-Based Solutions #NBS worldwide. Ulrike Decoene Julia D. Eloi Astier Catherine Chazal Victor Poirier Gilles Moec Aurélie FALLON SAINT-LO Beatrice WEDER DI MAURO Laurence Tubiana Franck Courchamp Natacha Boric Matthias Kalkuhl Elsa Cheminet Renaud Coulomb Irene Monasterolo Wavestone Nomadeis