Green Finance: Trends, Risks and Regulation

The purpose of the study is to examine current trends in the development of the global green financial market, regulatory approaches and risks the global green financial system is facing. The study examines trends shaping sustainable finance market given the current geopolitical and economic situation, describes regulatory approaches and analyzes the risks to the global green finance system. We find that the main trend is steady growth and growing popularity of green financial instruments, as well as the rising role of financial sector and investors. As for the regulatory approaches, we find that key topics in sustainable finance regulation are taxonomies; product standards, disclosures and labeling; management and disclosure of climate risks; management and disclosure of ESG risks and green bond guidelines. The main risks include greenwashing, the financing gap for the sustainable development goals (SDGs), primarily in developing countries, lack of standardized definitions, taxonomies or reliable data. We come to the conclusion that despite the green finance market will continue to grow steadily as green taxonomies which are the main regulatory instrument will continue to shape the future of the sustainable finance market as they evolve around the globe.