Page 34 - Green Finance 2024
P. 34

II. Literature review of green finance

                     The  academic  investigation  into  green  finance  traces  its  roots  back  to  the  broader

                     environmental movement of the 1970s. Initially, this research primarily revolved around

                     conceptual frameworks linking financial markets and environmental sustainability. Early

                     academic explorations were focused on understanding the potential roles of financial

                     systems in addressing environmental challenges, laying the groundwork for what would
                     later become green finance.


                     A seminal contribution during this period was the work of Schmidheiny and Zorraquin

                     (1996), which offered one of the earliest insights into the role of financial markets in

                     sustainable development. Schmidheiny argued that sustainable development requires a
                     shift  in  how  businesses  and  financial  markets  operate,  emphasizing  the  need  for

                     integrating environmental considerations into economic and financial decision-making

                     processes. This early work was instrumental in establishing a conceptual link between

                     finance and environmental sustainability.

                     Concurrently, academic discourses began to emphasize the importance of ‘sustainable

                     development’, a term popularized by the Brundtland Report in 1987 (Brundtland et al.,

                     1987).  The  report  articulated  the  need  for  development  that  meets  the  needs  of  the

                     present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,

                     thereby integrating economic, social, and environmental dimensions.

                     These early explorations laid the foundation for later academic work in green finance.

                     Researchers began to critically analyze traditional financial systems, identifying the gaps

                     and  opportunities  for  enhancing  environmental  sustainability  through  financial

                     mechanisms. This period saw the emergence of various theories and models proposing
                     how  financial  markets  could  be  reoriented  to  support  sustainable  development

                     objectives.










                     33
   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39