The OMFIF Podcast

Artificial intelligence has transformed the conversation around investing, but much of the focus has remained on equity markets. As AI adoption accelerates across the global economy, its implications for fixed income investors are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. In this episode, Manusha Samaraweera, fixed income investment director at Capital Group, joins Mariam Khan, economist at OMFIF, to discuss his paper, ‘Why bond investors can’t ignore the AI revolution’. They explore how AI-driven productivity gains could influence sovereign debt dynamics and inflation over the long term, why the US may be better positioned than other regions to capture the benefits of AI and how the technology is creating both opportunities and risks across credit markets. Read the Capital Group paper, ‘Why bond investors can’t ignore the AI revolution’.

Tokenised deposits are putting commercial banks back in the centre of the evolution of digital money. Lee McNabb, head of digital assets at NatWest Group, joins John Orchard, chairman of the Digital Monetary Institute at OMFIF, about the benefits and remaining challenges of bringing tokenised commercial bank money to wholesale and retail users. They discuss the ways central banks and policy-makers are working on this development, which will allow the existing financial architecture to combine the benefits of blockchain with the guardrails and infrastructure of the two-tier financial system. Read the latest edition of the Digital Monetary Institute Journal for more insights on tokenised deposits.

There is a growing water crisis on multiple fronts. In early 2026, United Nations scientists declared an era of global water bankruptcy as systems hit breaking point. The social and health implications of this are widely understood, but the economic and financial risks are too often missing from the conversation. A new report by WWF finds that, when climate and nature risks are considered separately, without fully integrating freshwater considerations, important systemic risks can be overlooked and gaps in risk management can build up. In this episode, Carolin Carella, research lead at the WWF Greening Financial Regulation Initiative, and Jessica Smith, head of nature at the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, join Sarah Moloney, editorial director at OMFIF. They examine the key findings of the report and consider what financial institutions, supervisors and regulators can do to help ensure a financially resilient and water-secure future. Read the WWF report, ‘Navigating towards water resilience’, which highlights the materiality of water insecurity to price and financial stability and the possible steps for central banks and financial supervisors to address water-related risks in their work, and the UNEP FI Risk Centre's flagship report, ‘The landscape of sustainability risk integration’, which assessed the extent to which sustainability risks are being integrated by the global banking sector.

While diversification remains a priority, economic fundamentals are once again taking precedence in investment decisions as central banks navigate a more fragmented global landscape. Max Castelli, head of strategy for sovereign institutions, and Philipp Salman, director of strategy for sovereign institutions at UBS Asset Management, join Yara Aziz, senior economist at OMFIF, to unpack the main takeaways from UBS’ 32nd Reserve Management Seminar. They discuss why economic fundamentals are returning to the centre of reserve management, what geopolitics means for investors, and how central banks are thinking about diversification, the dollar and gold.

Rapid digitalisation, the declining use of cash and the growing influence of non-European payment providers have prompted European policy-makers to reconsider the future of money and payments. In the face of growing geopolitical tensions, the European Central Bank's exploration of a digital euro encompasses a wider effort to ensure that Europe retains control over critical payment infrastructure. Joachim Nagel, president of the Deutsche Bundesbank, joins John Orchard, chairman of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute to discuss financial sovereignty, the future of the European Central Bank and strategic autonomy in payments.

Long-standing assumptions about globalisation, multilateral co-operation and financial stability are increasingly being challenged, raising questions about whether the institutions designed to support prosperity are still fit for purpose. Mark Sobel, vice chair and chief economist at OMFIF, is joined by Eswar Prasad, economist and author of The Doom Loop: Why the World Economic Order Is Spiraling Into Disorder. They discuss the central thesis of the book – how globalisation, inequality and institutions like the International Monetary Fund have created a destructive feedback loop, destabilising the world order.

As governments across Europe and beyond commit to significantly higher defence spending, a critical question is coming into focus: how can these ambitions be financed sustainably? In the final instalment of the ‘Hard power’ series on defence, Mark Sobel, vice chair at OMFIF, is joined by Andrea Presbitero, economist at the International Monetary Fund. They discuss what rising military expenditure means for public finances and economic growth as well as the trade-offs facing governments – from advanced and emerging markets – already grappling with constrained budgets. 

With tokenisation taking hold of capital markets, the platforms offering the services are actively shaping the infrastructure and the future of the marketplace. Mark Rakhmilevich, vice president, product management and development at Oracle, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the way tokenisation is developing in capital markets and the ways in which artificial intelligence can support it, giving regulators and market participants comfort in their ability to scrutinise transactions.

Gold has re-emerged as a focal point in the global financial system. Against shifting trade dynamics, elevated public debt and questions over the future trajectory of the dollar-based monetary order, central banks are accumulating gold at a pace not seen in decades. At the same time, investors are reassessing the role of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation, market volatility and systemic risk. David Marsh, chairman of OMFIF, is joined by Willem Middelkoop, founder of Commodity Discovery Fund and William White, former chief economist at the Bank for International Settlements, to explore gold's evolving place in the international monetary landscape and examine the forces shaping its demand. Ahead of OMFIF’s Gold and Precious Metals working group meetings, which informed the ‘Gold and the new world disorder’ report in 2024, participants hold the metal to the light, inspecting it under newer circumstances.

Artificial intelligence agents are beginning to make their presence felt in online payments. At present, they typically discover options for purchase and present users with buy options. However, many are already looking towards a future where AI agents have wallets and the ability to pay for small items with stablecoins. This could also create the opportunity for machine-to-machine micropayments. Chad Harper, head of the Coinbase Institute, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the rails that will facilitate agentic payments, particularly x402, Coinbase’s payments protocol.

As governments commit to long-term security strategies stretching to 2035, fiscal pressures are arriving much sooner and markets are already responding. What does sustained defence expenditure mean for sovereign debt, borrowing costs and economic priorities? Who ultimately pays, and over what timeline? In the second episode of the ‘Hard power’ series on defence, Udaibir Das, vice chair at OMFIF, is joined by Sarah Carlson, senior vice president of sovereign risk at Moody’s Ratings and Ron Smith, emeritus professor of applied economics at Birkbeck, University of London. Together, they discuss the historical record on defence build-ups and growth; the fiscal arithmetic facing higher-debt sovereigns and whether political ambitions, fiscal realities and market expectations can ultimately be reconciled.

With US legislators mulling the Clarity Act, Europe reopening Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation for public consultation and the UK preparing its own cryptoasset regime, stablecoin policy is rapidly taking shape. Dante Disparte, Circle’s chief strategy officer joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to break down some of the key policy debates in the stablecoin world.

Energy security and sustainability have moved to the centre of policy debate amid increasing geopolitical fragmentation and crises. Governments are balancing the need for resilient, affordable energy systems with the accelerating transition to net zero and intensifying competition over critical minerals and technologies. In the first episode of the ‘Hard power’ series on defence, Anne Simpson, vice chair at OMFIF, is joined by Vladimir Gorshkov, macro policy strategist at State Street Investment Management to discuss how policy-makers, investors and industry leaders are navigating the energy security-sustainability nexus, and what it means for growth, competitiveness and long-term economic stability.

Crypto-assets are forming a growing part of institutional investors’ portfolios. As a result, there is a growing demand for equivalent sources of data and analytical tools that investors use to guide their trading in traditional markets. Andrew Forson, president of DeFi Technologies and chief growth officer of Valour, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss a new index that makes use of capital flows data in exchange-traded products to generate valuable information about the behaviour of crypto-asset investors. This index is available to the OMFIF network in monthly newsletters and on our website here. 

Tokenisation is accelerating across capital markets and central securities depositories with their unique scale and role within capital markets have the opportunity to position themselves at the forefront of development.   Thilo Derenbach, head of business development and commercialisation of digital initiatives at Clearstream, discusses their approach to the tokenisation of securities with head of content of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, Lewis McLellan. Progress in tokenisation is set to become a necessity if European capital markets are to remain globally competitive, particularly in light of developments in the US and east Asia. 

As global conversations around gender equality evolve, the focus is increasingly shifting from commitments to measurable outcomes. This includes how legal frameworks, institutional practices and representation translate into real economic inclusion for women, and how we can better understand both the progress made and the barriers that persist across countries and sectors. Tea Trumbic, manager of the Women, Business and the Law project at the World Bank, joins Andrea Correa, head of research at OMFIF, to discuss the intersection of evidence-based policy-making and women’s economic empowerment. From personal reflections to the broader policy landscape, we examine where meaningful progress has been achieved, where gaps remain, the importance of language in shaping the debate and the link between gender equality and economic growth. Download and read the OMFIF Gender Balance Index 2026.

Conor Perry, economist at OMFIF, speaks with Edward Harrold, fixed income investment director at Capital Group, about the outlook for European investment grade credit in an evolving macro backdrop. They discuss the impact of geopolitics on credit markets, inflation and interest rate expectations, as well as Capital Group’s approach to bottom-up investment management.

The representation of women in leadership, particularly in the financial sector, has been progressing over the years. This has been alongside mentorship programmes, networking platforms and career path support systems that institutions have been putting in place to advance a more equitable gender workplace.  Shriyanka Hore, board member at London Women’s Forum, joins Andrea Correa, head of research at OMFIF, to discuss how institutional initiatives, policies and networking opportunities have shaped the path of women in leadership positions, and which areas still need support to achieve gender balance. 

As natural disasters accelerate in both frequency and severity around the world, it is becoming increasingly difficult for insurers to provide protection to people and businesses alike. Regula Hess, financial sector engagement lead at WWF Switzerland, and Arne Holzhausen, head of outreach at Allianz Investment Management, joins Sarah Moloney, editorial director at OMFIF, to discuss the climate insurance protection gap and how it threatens global financial stability. They explore the key findings of a new white paper published by WWF. ‘Tackling the insurance protection gap: leveraging climate and nature to increase resilience’ finds that the widening gap between total economic losses after a natural disaster and the proportion that is insured is becoming a material concern for financial regulators, central banks and governments. The conversation digs into why nature loss and the degradation of ecosystems are central to the issue and looks at how the impacts go far beyond risks to property.

Tara Hariharan, managing director and head of research at NWI Management, joins Mark Sobel, chief economist and vice chair at OMFIF to discuss emerging market investing.  They explore how to manage the volatility associated with current market volatility in light of developments in the Middle East while combining those with views and assessments of underlying EM country economic developments. 

Michael Pettis, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment and co-author of Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace, joins Mark Sobel, chief economist and vice chair at OMFIF, to discuss the insuperable obstacles China faces in seeking to escape its wasteful investment-led growth model and instead boost consumption and services.

As the new generation of financial infrastructure takes shape, the need for sophisticated tools to inform policy-makers is growing. To encourage innovation and preserve security, it is vital that policy-makers have the capacity to interact with and closely supervise new systems. Sandboxes are a key tool for this process. Carmelle Cadet, chief executive officer and founder of EmTech joins OMFIF to discuss the nuances of how sandboxes work and how they should be constructed.

Discussions around central bank digital currencies typically begin with the intended use case. If the CBDC is for retail use, then all the subsequent discussions focus on retail, and the reverse is true for wholesale. The two are treated as separate discussions. Abbas Albasha, senior strategy consultant at Giesecke+Devrient joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss why this approach is too restrictive, pointing out that a single CBDC system can be designed to meet both retail and wholesale needs flexibly without need for two separate systems.

Max Castelli, head of strategy for sovereign institutions, and Philipp Salman, director of strategy for sovereign institutions at UBS Asset Management, join Yara Aziz, senior economist at OMFIF, to discuss how shifting geopolitics shaped reserve management in 2025, and what sovereign investors should watch for in 2026. They cover the macro outlook, longer-term portfolio strategy, US concentration risk and the debate around the dollar’s role in reserves.

In the coming year, renewed attention should be made to explore how governments can shift from simply spending more to spending smarter. Drawing on new insights from the International Monetary Fund and fresh empirical work from OMFIF and EY, we examine why productive public investment remains elusive, what distinguishes high-performing public institutions and how fiscal policies can better support high-productive investment.   Mark MacDonald, global public finance management leader at EY, and Galen Sheer, senior economist, fiscal affairs at the IMF, join Andrea Correa, senior economist at OMFIF, to unpack the practical reforms finance ministries can take, from improving allocative and technical efficiency to building credible evaluation systems, and offer next steps that policy-makers can act on immediately to drive better long-term outcomes.

Sovereign debt scholar Anna Gelpern, Scott K. Ginsburg professor of law and international finance at Georgetown University, joins Mark Sobel, US chair at OMFIF, to discuss the theory of the case for debt transparency, the need for more and better public debt disclosure and the impact of poor disclosure on low-income countries and emerging markets.    Gelpern also explores ideas on how to tackle the challenge, and shares an update on the Sovereign Debt Forum's Public Debt Is Public project with Georgetown’s Massive Data Institute.

European fixed income has been 'normalising' over 2025. Inflation is stabilising, the European Central Bank has halted rates near neutral, spreads are tight but markets are steady. Yet political and fiscal divergences remain sharp within the European Union with Italian BTPs now regularly pricing through French OATs. The EU’s rapid expansion as a AAA issuer is altering Europe’s credit market structure and raising the prospect of a genuine euro safe asset. Conor Perry, economist at OMFIF’s Economic and Monetary Policy Institute, is joined by Jeremy Cunningham, investment director at Capital Group, to examine these developments. They discuss OAT-BTP repricing, investor-base effects on yield sensitivity, the impact of unified EU issuance and the outlook for 2026.

Dennis Shen, chair of the macroeconomic council and lead global economist at Scope Ratings, joins Mark Sobel, OMFIF US chair, to discuss the global economic outlook entering 2026, prospects for the US, China, Europe and Japan, alongside the key global economic challenges and risks.

In 2015, almost 200 countries signed the Paris agreement in a landmark commitment to limit the impact of global warming. Ten years on, Rahul Ghosh, global head of sustainable finance at Moody’s Ratings, and Umar Ashfaq, research director for the Americas at the MSCI Institute, join Sarah Moloney, editorial director at OMFIF, to examine how much progress has been made in the decade since and whether there is still a place for such international agreements in a more divided world.

Stablecoins are dominating the headlines and policy-makers are responding rapidly. The instruments, though once primarily used as a trading pair for crypto-assets, are rapidly gaining a foothold in cross-border payments where their speed and low cost make them an attractive alternative in some corridors. Eyes are also on their potential adoption for wholesale settlement.    Thibault Pelé, head of product for digital currency at Worldline, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the evolving uses of stablecoins and the promise this instrument shows in reshaping money.    

Governments today face mounting pressure to deliver more with fewer resources. Yet the way public money is managed often leans towards expenditure control rather than investment in long-term socioeconomic outcomes. Even when innovative policies or technical solutions exist, implementation barriers frequently prevent good ideas from being translated into results.  Adam Chepenik, principal, government and public sector, and Andrew Kleine, managing director, government and public sector at EY, join Andrea Correa, senior economist at OMFIF, to discuss how governments can invest in outcomes, prepare for crises and make their financial choices more sustainable, impactful and politically appealing.

Money is arriving on blockchain. Whether that is in the form of stablecoins, tokenised deposits or central bank money, it has the potential to reshape the way we do business, both in our personal lives and in wholesale financial markets.    Zha Wenting (AC), Senior Digital Transformation Expert, Director of On-chain Finance Development at Huawei Digital Finance BU, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content of OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the impact that on-chain cash is beginning to have, where it's going and what Huawei's role is.

Events and a series of unforced errors leave Europe in a precarious state. How will the half-built political project contend with hostile neighbours, economic rivals and disengaging former allies on the one hand, and internal arguments about money, governance and demography on the other?  David Marsh, OMFIF chairman, discusses his new book, Can Europe Survive? The Story of a Fractured Continent, with John Orchard, chairman of OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute. They discuss the evolution of the Russo-German relationship, the competence and fragility of the European Central Bank and the financial arguments now heading over the horizon. 

With Asia warming at twice the global average, the transition to net zero makes both social and economic sense for the region. Executive Director of the External Department at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Kenneth Hui, joins OMFIF's Editorial Director, Sarah Moloney, to discuss the HKMA’s approach to channelling capital to the sectors and regions that need it most. Speaking in the wake of the super typhoon Ragasa and Hong Kong Green Week, they explore the shift in conversations from the ‘why’ to the ‘how’, the importance of adaptation and resilience measures as well as the September 2025 update to the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.

National financial infrastructure is undergoing perhaps its most rapid period of change in a generation. The needs and expectations of consumers and businesses are evolving to meet a new digital age, and payments systems must evolve to keep up. Among the key developments are increasing real-time payments, growing cross-border flows and the emergence of crypto-assets and stablecoins.   Frank Chen Lu, Solution Architect, Digital Finance BU at Huawei, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss these new dynamics and the policy response from the official sector.

Around the world, we’re seeing renewed attention to public debt and fiscal tightening, particularly as debt levels continue to rise in advanced economies. Governments face difficult trade-offs: cut spending on services, delay infrastructure investment or raise taxes.    Mauricio Zelaya, partner and national economics leader at EY Canada, and Marie Diron, managing director of sovereign risk at Moody’s Ratings, join Andrea Correa, senior economist at OMFIF, to talk about the relationship between fiscal management, fiscal capacity and the link between debt and public investment. They discuss how governments are balancing fiscal consolidation with essential investments, how borrowed funds can be used effectively to generate productive outcomes and what reforms enable governments to design fiscal strategies that are both responsible in the short term and sustainable over the long term.

Max Castelli, head of strategy for sovereign institutions at UBS Asset Management, joins Yara Aziz, senior economist at OMFIF, to discuss the future of the dollar in the global financial system. They explore UBS’s latest Reserve Management Survey findings, the dollar's resilience, the rise of gold, digital currencies and whether any challengers are truly positioned to take the dollar’s place.

Today’s tighter fiscal position around the world is pushing governments to find alternatives to finance their current expenditure and public investments, forcing them to think differently about how they fund and deliver essential services. Dean Yates, regional market segment leader in government and health sciences, Oceania, at EY, and Rainer Kattel, deputy director and professor of innovation and public governance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, join Andrea Correa, senior economist at OMFIF, to explore what it takes to make public investment work. They discuss the government's position and trade-offs around public investment, how to prioritise and measure investments for long-term impact and the role of innovation and governance in delivering value across health, education and infrastructure.

Richard Manley, chief sustainability officer at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, joins Yara Aziz, senior economist at OMFIF, to discuss the key findings from a jointly published report, ‘Investing in a changing world: How public funds are addressing climate-related physical risks’. They explore the challenges public funds face in managing physical risk and where they see opportunities to build resilience.

Questions about the long-term viability of the dollar as the world’s supreme transaction and investment currency have been building up for years. But America’s chaotic foreign, economic and trade policies in the six months since Donald Trump returned to the White House have intensified doubts about whether the US currency will stay the course for the longer term. Will the US be knocked off its monetary pedestal in the next five years? And which currencies are in the running as the most potent rivals to the dollar?   Ellie Groves, head of strategy, official institutions group at State Street Investment Management, and David Marsh, chairman of OMFIF, debate the pros and cons of the dollar and other leading currencies, with reference to some of the themes in David’s new book, Can Europe Survive? The Story of a Continent in a Fractured World.

Although it frequently flies under the radar, ensuring central bank digital currencies are able to be used at point-of-sale is vital to their successful adoption.   Lars Hupel, chief evangelist for CBDC at Giesecke+Devrient, joins Lewis McLellan, head of content at OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss integrating CBDCs at point-of-sale, the strategic and economic benefits it will bring and the appropriate incentive structures to encourage it.   You can find more information in a paper authored by Lars Hupel, which unveils the world of CBDC wallets and their various forms. It illustrates different methods to initiate payments and crafts a conceptual model for point-of-sale transactions, designed with the specific features of retail CBDCs in mind. 

Max Castelli, head of strategy for sovereign institutions at UBS Asset Management, joins Yara Aziz, economist at OMFIF, to unpack the global reserve response after 2 April – a date proclaimed by President Donald Trump as Liberation Day. They dive into US policy shifts, the dollar’s evolving role, rising demand for gold and whether Europe is finally ready to take the lead. 

Zain Saidin, chief executive officer of Tassat, joins editor of OMFIF's Digital Monetary Institute, Lewis McLellan, to discuss the value of private blockchain networks for regulated finance.   The discussion covers how the transparency typical of public blockchains may present trade-offs where counterparties want to know each other but cannot know each other's trading behaviour. They also discuss Lynq – a real-time yield-bearing settlement network for digital assets, sitting on a private institutional network.

Ahead of the Blue Economy and Finance Forum taking place on 7-8 June 2025, Louise Heaps, Global Lead Sustainable Blue Economy, and Maud Abdelli, Greening Financial Regulation Initiative Lead at the Worldwide Fund for Nature, join OMFIF's Isabella Frymoyer to explore how financial institutions can advance ocean sustainability. The conversation highlights the key priorities, challenges and tools needed to scale investment in the blue economy, ultimately outlining the importance of encouraging blue sustainable growth.

Jonathan Griffiths, senior investment specialist at Capital Group, joins Arunima Sharan, senior economist at OMFIF’s Economic and Monetary Policy Institute, to unpack Capital Group’s 2025 Capital Market Assumptions and explore perspectives for institutional investors navigating an increasingly complex global investment landscape. They discuss themes ranging from opportunities in emerging market, to fixed income strategies and currency outlooks over the next two decades.

Instant payments systems are proliferating rapidly, and many central banks are working hard on interlinking them to enable quick, efficient cross-border payments. However, while IPS can provide extremely rapid, low-cost payments, they are not immune to fraud and erroneous payments. Given the speed of settlement, these problems can be even more difficult to resolve than they are for other payments systems.   Petia Niederländer, head of payments, risk monitoring and financial literacy at Oesterreichische Nationalbank, and Cian OMurhu, managing director and head of strategic transformation office at Swift, join Lewis McLellan, editor of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the technical infrastructure required to address these issues, how they are being implemented and what work still needs to be done.

Real-world asset tokenisation is accelerating, particularly within private distributed ledger technology platforms like R3's Corda. But Richard Brown, R3’s chief technology officer, believes that the future of financial market infrastructure lies in the convergence of private networks like Corda and public networks like Ethereum and Solana. He joins Lewis McLellan, editor of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss the opportunity that DLT presents for an overhaul of financial market infrastructure where the openness, liquidity and composability of public networks is combined with the regulatory confidence offered by private networks.

Paul Blustein, author of King Dollar: The Past and Future of the World's Dominant Currency, joins OMFIF to discuss his latest book and thoughts on why the dollar has been, continues to be and will remain the world's dominant currency.  He discusses why the euro and renminbi are not viable alternatives, whether there is a role for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, if excess US use of financial sanctions could weaken the dollar's global role and what other landmines might lie ahead, including American dysfunction. 

OMFIF’s 2024 survey of central banks found that, while three-quarters of respondents are continuing their plans to issue central bank digital currencies, one-third have delayed their timelines. However, this was before the change in US government and the decision not to pursue CBDCs, instead prioritising digital assets. A follow-up OMFIF survey revealed that this development has encouraged some central banks outside the US to move in the opposite direction and accelerate their CBDC plans. Wolfram Seidemann, chief executive officer of Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology, joins John Orchard, chairman of OMFIF’s Digital Monetary Institute, to discuss why CBDCs should be issued sooner rather than later, how public sector payment rails can boost private sector innovation and what the future financial system might look like.

Amelia Santos-Paulino, chief of investment research at the United Nations Trade and Development's investment and enterprise division, joins OMFIF to discuss some of the key priorities in sustainability for UNTAD in 2025. She considers the space for trade and investment flows in international climate discussions, particularly in the face of recent elections. She also discusses the critical growth sectors associated with sustainable trade and the opportunities and challenges faced by emerging markets in this area.