Green Finance

In recent years green finance has become a major topic of discussion among European legislators and financial market actors. The prevalence of this topic is attributable in no small part to the European Green Deal of 2019, which foresees extensive climate investment to fulfill the goals of the 2015 Paris agreement. According to the European Commission and national authorities, the financial sector has a key role to play in the green transformation of the economy and society. Specifically, as a supplement to fiscal policy action, the financial sector is being called upon to channel more capital toward climate resilience and sustainable development.

“Green finance” typically refers to investment measures that serve ecological and climate goals. Yet the term also encompasses regulatory measures that aim to ensure transparency, guide financial flows, support risk management, and prevent greenwashing. A key pillar of this regulatory framework is the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities, which defines criteria for measuring the environmental performance of economic activities. This “green taxonomy” aims to provide market actors with reliable standards for making ecological investment decisions. EU legislators have also established comprehensive disclosure obligations for financial institutions and companies. These obligations represent a second important pillar of the regulatory framework for green finance, because they ensure the disclosure of environmental performance information. Such information is a crucial enabler of investment decisions that serve sustainability.

The clean-energy transition is bringing about fundamental changes in the function and organization of the financial sector and monetary system. As a result, new demands are being placed on central banks and market regulators. The interdisciplinary approaches pursued by researchers at the House of Finance are of particular benefit for the study of policy measures designed to enable climate-friendly investment. Indeed, insights from a range of fields – including law, sociology, economics, and natural sciences – are essential for assessing the impact of policy measures on financial markets and the real economy as well as for ensuring an effective regulatory regime.

Activities at the House of Finance

09/22/25 | House of Finance, SAFE: Workshop

Workshop jointly organized by House of Finance / CTC Sustainable Finance and Reporting…

Workshop jointly organized by House of Finance / CTC Sustainable Finance and Reporting Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.

09/12/25 | SAFE: Working Paper

This paper analyzes the impact of disclosures of sustainable investment targets under the…

This paper analyzes the impact of disclosures of sustainable investment targets under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) on mutual fund flows. Using a staggered…

09/07/25 | House of Finance: News

At the annual conference of the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and…

At the annual conference of the Global Research Alliance for Sustainable Finance and Investment (GRASFI), held from August 25 to 27 at Paris Dauphine University, Goethe University…

09/03/25 | SAFE: Working Paper

What role does bond versus bank debt play in the climate transition? We document that…

What role does bond versus bank debt play in the climate transition? We document that fossil fuel firms with greater stranded-asset risk rely less on bond finance and more on bank credit.…

09/03/25 | SAFE: Working Paper

I study the informational value of community resilience in credit markets during natural…

I study the informational value of community resilience in credit markets during natural disasters. Exploiting a severe flood in Germany in 2013, I combine loan-level data on car loans with…

09/01/25 | CFS: Working Paper

Sustainable finance regulations and initiatives across Europe have predominantly targeted…

Sustainable finance regulations and initiatives across Europe have predominantly targeted large corporations, while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly drawn into the…

Program area experts

Tobias Berg

Tobias Berg

Goethe Universität Frankfurt (Professor), SAFE (Research Fellow), IWH (Research Professor)
  • Bankensektor
  • FinTech
  • Klimafinanzierung

Florian Heeb

Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE, Goethe University Frankfurt & MIT Sloan
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Climate Finance
  • Impact Investing
Roman Inderst

Roman Inderst

Goethe Universität Frankfurt (Professor)
  • Green Finance
  • Competition
  • Consumer Protection
Loriana Pelizzon

Loriana Pelizzon

Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE & Goethe University, Chair of Law and Finance
  • Financial Markets
  • Market Microstructure
  • Sovereign and Systemic Risk
Tobias Tröger

Tobias Tröger

Goethe Universität, Kolleg-Forschungsgruppe LawFin; Leibnizinstitut SAFE, Cluster Law and Finance; IMFS Forschungsprofessor
  • Bank- und Finanzmarktregulierung
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Corporate Governance
Manfred Wandt

Manfred Wandt

Institut für Versicherungsrecht FB 01, Institute for Law and Finance, International Center for Insurance Regulation
  • Versicherungsrecht
  • Vertragsrecht
  • Internationales Haftungs- und Schadensrecht