• Civil society activity has grown in sustainable finance but is low compared to other fields.
• Civil society activities so far had limited impact in affecting sustainable finance legislation and practices.

Highlights

• Transitions require substantial investment in new technologies and infrastructures.
• Moreover, changes to the rules of the finance system itself are required.
• We investigate the strategies civil society actors use to affect finance transitions.

🚨📣NEW PAPER OUT NOW!!!🚨

Check out our latest article "‘Kicking the shin and extending a hand’: Which strategies do civil society actors use to affect transitions to sustainable finance?" on civil society strattegies to influence finance within the green transition. 💹🍃🌳🌿💲

doi.org/10.1016/j.ei...

Great piece by @proufos.bsky.social on the historical trajection of central bank independence! 🏦

👇Read below to understand why we should not defend it as the base of economic stability and democracy

Jopin our launch event of our [tra:ce] Working Paper No. 6 exploring how European financial institutions respond to stranded asset risks!

🔗 Register for the event: www.uni-wh.de/launch-des-t...
📄 Read the paper: ssrn.com/abstract=568...

Looking forward to seeing all of you!

🚨New article🚨 Why has the promise of universal ownership been broken, as @benbraun.bsky.social has suggested?

Our argument: because the Big Three are hardly universal. They mainly invest in those that can insulate themselves from environmental harm - big tech & financials in the Global North.
🧵

There is no room for fossil fuel developers in any sustainable finance categories - Reclaim Finance The review of the SFDR is coming to an end with the publication of the proposal for a revised regulation by the European Commission announced for Q4 2025.

reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2025...

As the revision of the #SFDR comes to an end, I am joining @reclaimfinance.org and +120 experts in calling on the @ec.europa.eu exclude companies developing new fossil fuel projects a minimum criterion across all #SFDR product categories.
There's no room for new fossil fuels in sustainable funds!

There is no room for fossil fuel developers in any sustainable finance categories - Reclaim Finance The review of the SFDR is coming to an end with the publication of the proposal for a revised regulation by the European Commission announced for Q4 2025.

📣 Avec plus de 120 organisations, experts, chercheurs et entreprises, nous appelons la Commission européenne à garantir l'exclusion des entreprises développant de nouveaux projets d'énergies fossiles des futures catégories du SFDR afin de lutter efficacement contre le greenwashing.

Lire la lettre ⤵️

Once again a cery interesting, thought provoking and inspiring Finance and Society conference @finandsoc.bsky.social - looking forward to next year (whereever it's going to be)!
Thanks to numerous colleagues for intense discussions and critical questions!

What Salvador Allende Feared On September 11, 1973, Chile’s socialist president Salvador Allende was overthrown in a CIA-backed military coup. In this 1971 interview, published in English for the first time, Allende expressed his fears of internal destabilization and US interference.

On September 11, 1973, Chile’s socialist president Salvador Allende was overthrown in a CIA-backed coup.

In this 1971 interview, published in English for the first time in Jacobin, Allende expressed his fears of destabilization and US interference.

13/ “Beijing is offering cheap, clean power, employment, trade and a route to prosperity. Washington is offering tariffs, policy chaos, White nationalist memes and South Korean workers in shackles after a raid on an EV battery factory.” ht
@davidfickling.bsky.social
bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

The paper is part of a special issue on sustainable finance entitled "Puzzling, powering, profiting: The politics of sustainable finance in Europe". We are grateful for the kind guidance and support from the guest editors @danmertens.bsky.social and @nataschavanderzwan.bsky.social!

📌 Examining these articulation strategies helps reveal the political dimension of the relationship between financial capital and sustainability, highlighting efforts to engage various stakeholders, privileging some and sidelining others.

📌 By proposing the political strategy of ‘playing the capital market’, the paper emphasizes the strategic malleability of market-related ideas by EU institutions, but also the necessity to relegitimise them in the name of a common good.

📌 In addition, they attempted to reconcile the tension between the goal of redirecting financial flows to meet environmental targets and the need to enhance the competitiveness of the European financial and industrial system.

📌 By introducing sustainable finance into the EU agenda 'as part of' the CMU project in 2016, their strategy sought to ease the tension between the short-termism and volatility of market-based finance, in order to mobilize for investment purposes, and the long-term nature of green investments.

📌 The paper explores how the European Commission and the ECB have simultaneously sought to relegitimise the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and mobilise market-based finance for green investments.

Playing the capital market? Sustainable finance and the discursive construction of the Capital Markets Union as a common good The Capital Markets Union (CMU) project aims to create more integrated capital markets in Europe. However, the project faces resistance, and despite ongoing efforts EU capital markets remain fragme...

Happy to share our new open-access article from the SuFi project at Witten/Herdecke University, just published in the @jeppjournal.bsky.social!

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Our #policy #paper has just been published: "Financing the #green #transition: Increasing #bankability, phasing out carbon investments and funding 'never bankable' activities". We ask: Why does a large green financing gap persist? What policies do we need to change it: www.uni-wh.de/en/your-camp...

🚨 Do check out this very timely Policy Report on "Financing the green transition" 👇

Figure from our #policy #report: 1. The main barrier to #financing the necessary activities for the sustainable transition is their lack of #bankability
2. High GHG-emitting activities remain #bankable and thus continue to attract financing from banks and shadow banks
www.uni-wh.de/en/your-camp...

How can political decision-makers strengthen sustainable and climate-friendly investments - and at the same time effectively prevent climate-damaging financial flows? The latest [tra:ce] Policy Report takes a closer look at this question.

Further information:
www.uni-wh.de/en/your-camp...

We are thrilled to announce the public launch of our policy paper: "Financing the green transition: Increasing bankability, phasing out carbon investments and funding 'never bankable' activities" Monday 30.06.2025, 11:00 (CET) via Zoom.

Please register here:
www.uni-wh.de/die-finanzie...

Ratschläge aus der Zukunft gesucht!

Wir suchen inspirierende, innovative & kreative Antworten auf die Frage „Was rät die Zukunft dem Heute?”

Stell dir vor: Es ist das Jahr 2070 und du lebst in einer nachhaltigen und gerechten Welt.

Spread the word! :)

www.uni-wh.de/euer-campus/...

Check out our second [tra:ce] working paper!
This time, we zoom in on the role of banks in sustainable finance: "The green banking gap: how bankability, business models, and regulations challenge banks' decarbonisation". *Join our public paper launch on Monday, 26 May, 11h (CET)*!

Interesting read.

📢 Job announcement – 1 PhD researcher in my "Global Sustainability Governance" research group

Please share this opportunity within your networks and encourage suitable candidates to apply (or consider applying yourself)! Happy to answer questions!

Deadline: 4 June 👇
www.uni-due.de/karriere/ste...

Online discussion event of our new working paper - spread the word!!!

www.uni-wh.de/en/launch-of...

Thanks a lot for the valuable feedback, @sebastianmack.bsky.social ! :)