Islamic finance, the ecological shift
Islamic finance could well find a new area of development in the ecological transition. On September 4, the Istanbul Climate Finance Summit, organized at the Istanbul Financial Center, dedicated a high-level session to the rapprochement between climate finance and Islamic finance. An initiative supported in particular by the Investment and Finance Office of the Turkish Presidency and the Association of Participatory Banks of Türkiye (TKBB).
The objective: to think about how capital from Islamic finance can be more oriented towards renewable energies, sustainable infrastructure, water, clean transport or even climate change adaptation projects.
On paper, the connection seems quite natural. Islamic finance favors the financing of the real economy and is based in particular on the backing of operations to identifiable assets or activities. Green sukuk, a type of bond consistent with the principles of Islamic finance intended to finance environmental projects, are gradually developing.
The movement is already underway. According to the Islamic Development Bank, the global market for sustainable-labeled sukuk exceeded $20 billion in 2025, up 38% year-on-year. The World Bank estimates for its part that member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation will need more than $1,000 billion in climate investments by 2050. However, the share of Islamic finance devoted to this sector still remains limited.
It is therefore a considerable market that could open up. After having long been associated mainly with retail banking, real estate or large infrastructure projects, Islamic finance is now looking for new growth drivers. The ecological transition could become one of them.
