Green financing: Challenges and opportunities in the transition to a clean and climate-resilient economy

Abstract

Greening the economy involves improving the quality of the environment and tackling climate change, and is a major policy, economic and financial challenge. Key issues that have emerged in this context relate to financing climate change mitigation and adaptation and how to close the financing gap to fund the needed low-carbon investments. Beyond such capital mobilisation there is the more general challenge of whether and how the financial system can enable capital reallocation consistent with the “green” transition and for the long run, and what risks, opportunities and incentives are involved. This article provides a brief overview and summarises an OECD roundtable discussion on these issues. JEL classification: Q54, E10, E44, G12, G14, G21, G22, G23, G28. Keywords: Climate change, low carbon, climate finance, green finance, investment, capital allocation, financial system, disclosure, stranded assets, risks, COP21.