Sustainable Finance In Europe

The aim of this edited volume is to bring together the views of expert academics and practitioners on the latest regulatory developments in sustainable finance in Europe. The volume includes a wide range of cutting-edge issues, which relate to three main themes along which the volume is structured: (1) corporate governance; (2) financial stability; and (3) financial markets. With individual contributions deploying different methods of analysis, including theoretical contributions on the status quo of macro-financial research as well as law and economics approaches, the collection encourages interdisciplinary readership and will appeal to those researching capital markets law, European financial law, and sustainable finance, as well as practitioners within the finance industry.

This book offers a comprehensive discussion of how green finance has been growing thus far and explores the opportunities and key developments ahead, with particular emphasis on Europe. The main features of the market, the key products, the issue of correctly defining green finance, the main policy actions undertaken, the risk of green washing and the necessary steps to mainstream green finance are discussed in depth. In addition, the book analyses some highly relevant aspects of the market that so far have not been sufficiently explored in the policy, industry and academic debate. This includes the potential role of digitalisation and blockchain in fostering green finance, the crucial role of the effective financing of the agriculture to reach climate and environmental targets and the possible relationship between sustainable finance and other forms of "alternative" finance. This book will be of interest to academics, practitioners, financial institutions and policy makers involved in green finance and to the finance industry in general.

This book examines selected actions and investments of the European Central Bank (ECB) from a climate and sustainability standpoint. Shedding new light on the topic from various angles – ethical, philosophical, political, economical and legal – it situates sustainability mainstreaming in the finance and investment field at all levels. The former ECB President Mario Draghi once said that he considered sustainable development and an intact environment to be human rights, and therefore enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The acting ECB President Christine Lagarde added that the future path for the climate is uncertain, but it would remain within our power to influence it. However, with all that in mind the ECB’s policy of buying assets as securities is often questionable. This volume analyzes these actions in connection with sustainability, and puts forward practical recommendations for improving the ECB’s investment strategy on its way creating a sustainable financial market.

Sustainable finance has been one of the emerging areas of finance in the last decade. With its emphasis on any form of financial services that take environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into account in decision-making processes, it can help to improve social well-being, preserve the ecosystems and promote sustainable economic development. Furthermore, it can contribute to economic and financial resilience, along with enabling sustainable recovery against crises arising from physical or financial shocks. The Handbook of Research on Global Aspects of Sustainable Finance in Times of Crises discusses theory and concepts, focuses on practices and strategies, addresses the recent challenges and trends, and presents future prospects regarding sustainable finance. It provides a global look at sustainable finance in a variety of contexts, along with highlighting contemporary issues in light of crises such as the climate emergency and the COVID-19 pandemic. Covering a wide range of topics such as climate finance, green finance, social finance, ESG investing and responsible banking, the book is ideal for corporate managers, portfolio managers, investors, financial analysts, researchers, academicians, students and policymakers.

This book is the result of an intensive cooperation between the European Association for Banking and Financial Law (AEDBF Belgium), Forum Compliance, and the Jan Ronse Institute for Corporate and Financial Law (KU Leuven).00The European Commission?s Sustainable Finance Action Plan has resulted in a review of the entire body of financial regulation, at a remarkable pace. No area of financial regulation remains untouched. For the financial sector, the impact is immense: almost all processes will have to be reassessed and possibly amended. 00On the most remarkable innovations, this book offers contributions, grouped in four themes. A first part ? ?What Is Sustainable Finance?? ? features contributions on taxonomy, sustainability labels and ESG-related bonds. A second part takes the perspective of corporations, with contributions on sustainable governance, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive and the proposed Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. A third part assesses the impact of sustainable finance on prudential regulation and supervision. The fourth and final part relates to sustainable finance regulation with a predominant investor protection objective, with contributions on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, the sustainable finance-related changes to the MiFID and IDD frameworks, and the role of the conduct of business supervisor.00For everyone working in the financial sector, the sustainable finance movement represents an increased permanent education challenge. With this book, we hope to have contributed to this endeavour.0.

This book analyses sustainable finance policies implemented by the European Commission since January 2020. Gathering contributors from a range of European and international universities, it particularly aims to explore how EU strategy on green finance encourages and stimulates socially responsible investments that provide solutions to the challenges of the energy transition. The book provides a comprehensive coverage of economic, financial and legal issues concerning green finance and ESG factor integration in the EU. The first part of the book discusses theoretical and empirical perspectives on socially responsible investments (SRIs) and ESG integration, while the second section focuses specifically on the role of corporate governance in both institutional and private investment spheres. The third part of the book explores valuation and risk, including a discussion of current trends in SRI funding in the new European ESG Regulatory Framework. The final section of the book discusses legal and regulatory issues including an exploration of blue finance and its incorporation into EU financial strategy. This edited collection will be of interest to researchers and policymakers working in green finance, sustainability, energy economics and financial law.

The Sustainable Development Goals introduced by the United Nations in 2016 call for the significant mobilisation of finance. However, although sustainable investments are steadily increasing, there still remain large gaps within financing and the information that financial markets rely on is often incomplete or incorrect. For instance, the financial system has been structured around short-term frameworks and goals while the most pressing environmental and social challenges are long-term. Prices do not convey the cost of externalities associated with social and environmental challenges. It is therefore important to implement the effective pricing of externalities and create a common language and taxonomy between investors, issuers and policy-makers in order to best serve sustainable development. Addressing this challenge, the authors delve deeper into the levers that can be pulled within the financial system to prompt an efficient ecosystem of sustainability-related information, allowing social and environmental externalities to be incorporated into the decision-making process of all market agents. Incentives needed for investors, issuers and intermediaries are proposed along with regulation that can trigger these incentives. This book offers a comprehensive collection of chapters which explore the ongoing evolution of the European regulatory framework, providing essential reading for policymakers, practitioners and researchers alike.