This book explores issues related to green and sustainable finance which aims at the transformation of economies into a new, more sustainable model. It covers a variety of issues related to various financial areas, such as: corporate finance, public finance, monetary and fiscal policy, and risk management. The enclosed papers reflect the extent, diversity, and richness of research areas in the finance and sustainability fields, both fundamental and applied, and are beneficial to researchers, practitioners, scholars and policy makers in economics, finance, and international economics.
More than 120 countries have committed to net zero targets by 2050, requiring systemic economic transitions on an unprecedented scale and with the finance sector playing a leading role. Green finance will power the transition, ensuring capital flows to the firms, investments, projects and technologies looking to create a sustainable, low-carbon world. To achieve net zero, every professional financial decision must take climate change and broader sustainability factors into account. Green and Sustainable Finance provides a comprehensive guide to the application of common green and sustainable principles and practices in banking, investment and insurance to help finance professionals embed these in their daily activities and decision-making. Focusing on the necessity of mainstreaming green and sustainable finance globally, this book includes a clear explanation of the science underpinning climate change. Green and Sustainable Finance covers a wide range of green finance products and services in retail, commercial and corporate banking, insurance, investment and fintech. It provides an overview of emerging regulation and international market frameworks and standards, particularly in relation to climate and environmental risk. Consideration is also given to the ethical dimensions of green and sustainable finance, including how professionals can promote market integrity and take active steps to avoid greenwashing. Endorsed by the Chartered Banker Institute as the core text for the benchmark Certificate in Green and Sustainable Finance, this book is essential reading for finance professionals and students, and individuals working to embed sustainability in business, policy and regulation.
This book provides a detailed yet succinct overview of sustainable finance, with a specific focus on its origins, its policy focus and the practitioner dimension. With fossil fuel companies still attracting investment and subsidy across the world, the book describes how we can reverse these incentives, using the power of finance to tackle the climate and ecological crises. The world of finance is moving beyond the era of ethical investment and into a future where all financial companies will have to report the climate impact of their investments. This is the first stage towards full-scale ESG reporting (Environmental, Social and Governance). Since financial reporting depends on information provided by companies who receive investment, this has huge implications for non-financial reporting by all large companies. The timeline for these legal changes is short for what will be a transformation of financial accounting and investment. The book also covers the related issues of climate finance and the role of central and public banks in funding the transition to sustainability, and how we can ensure accountability for countries bearing the brunt of the impact from those with the largest responsibility for historic emissions. This book will enable those working in these fields to update their knowledge and skills, and brings together the author’s practical experience as an MEP with her academic insight as the first professor of green economics.
Combining theory, empirical data, and policy this book provides a fresh analysis of sustainable finance. It explains the sustainability challenges for corporate investment and shows how finance can steer funding to certain companies and projects without sacrificing return, speeding up the transistion to a sustainable economy.
Inclusive Green Growth: The Pathway to Sustainable Development makes the case that greening growth is necessary, efficient, and affordable. Yet spurring growth without ensuring equity will thwart efforts to reduce poverty and improve access to health, education, and infrastructure services.
This handbook deals with various financial instruments, policies, and strategies in a policy-oriented approach for financing green energy projects. Recently, global investment in renewables and energy efficiency has declined, and there is a risk that it will slow further, Clearly, fossil fuels still dominate energy investments. This trend could threaten the expansion of green energy needed to meet energy security, climate, and clean-air goals. Several developed and developing economies are still following pro-coal energy policies. The extra CO2 generated from new coal-fired power plants could more than eliminate any reductions in emissions made by other nations. Finance is the engine of development of infrastructural projects, including energy projects. By providing several thematic and country chapters, this handbook explains that if we plan to achieve sustainable development goals, we need to create opportunities for new green projects and scale up the financing of investments that furnish environmental benefits. New financial instruments and policies such as green bonds, green banks, carbon market instruments, fiscal policy, green central banking, fintech, and community-based green funds are among the chief components that make up green finance. Naoyuki Yoshino is Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute and Professor Emeritus, Keio University. Jeffery Sachs is Director, Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. Wing Thye Woo is Professor of Economics, U.C. Davis. Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary is Assistant Professor, Waseda University.
The book provides readers with essential insights into key issues in connection with planning, developing and financing sustainable energy projects in China that are relevant for practitioners, investors and developers involved in the emerging sustainable energy sector. It offers readers a deeper understanding of these contemporary issues by drawing on the lessons learned in real-world sustainable energy and green finance development activities in China, which are driven by central planning and policy implementation and complemented by investments and finances from public-private partnerships.
The use of financial concepts and tools to shape development is hardly new, but their recent adoption by advocates of sustainable environmental management has created opportunities for innovation in business and regulatory groups. The Handbook of Environmental and Sustainable Finance summarizes the latest trends and attitudes in environmental finance, balancing empirical research with theory and applications. It captures the evolution of environmental finance from a niche scholarly field to a mainstream subdiscipline, and it provides glimpses of future directions for research. Covering implications from the Kyoto and Paris Protocols, it presents an intellectually cohesive examination of problems, opportunities, and metrics worldwide. - Introduces the latest developments in environmental economics, sustainable accounting work, and environmental/sustainable finance - Explores the effects of environmental regulation on the economy and businesses - Emphasizes research about the trade-environmental regulation nexus, relevant for economics and business students
Sustainability thinking is rapidly gaining traction. It offers an inspiring vision for the future of the world and provides significant business and investment opportunities. Based on insights from over 300 empirical studies, this book explores the possibilities in the field of renewable energy finance, carbon trading, and sustainable investing. In addition, it describes innovative finance mechanisms – such as green bonds and peer-to-peer lending – that may further spur environmental and social sustainability. By taking an empirical, fact-based approach, this book aims to provide investors, business executives, and policymakers with a more thorough understanding of how sustainable finance can create value for business and society. Key words: Sustainable finance, renewable energy finance, cleantech, green investing, sustainable investments, responsible investments, carbon trading, carbon finance, ESG, impact investing.
