Green Finance: A Broken Promise?

Green finance has emerged as one of the great economic narratives of the last decade. Sustainable funds, green bonds, taxonomies, ESG criteria: everything seems to indicate that a massive reorientation of capital is taking place. Yet, behind the rise of labels and speeches, the financing needs for the transition remain immense, while investments actually directed towards decarbonization, adaptation or preservation of ecosystems remain insufficient.

Should we see the failure of an overambitious promise, or that of a still unfinished project? Green finance has profoundly transformed the languages of finance, but has it really changed the allocation of capital? And how can we prevent it from being reduced to a compliance exercise, or even to a new form of strategic communication? Can it bring about a transition that also presupposes political choices, collective arbitrations, and a more demanding redefinition of what is considered to be sustainable?