Contemporary Issues in Sustainable Finance

Sustainable investments, although not yet working under a comprehensive regulatory framework, represent a growing, worldwide phenomenon. Such growth reflects the renewed public and private interest in environmental issues such as climate change, poverty and financial inclusion, as well as growing support from conscious investors looking to finance environmental and social initiatives. However, despite the interest that sustainable investments are gaining among governors, investors and practitioners, important challenges remain that must be addressed.

Comprising a collection of research presented at the 2nd Social Impact Investments International Conference, this contributed volume offers a global analysis of the current state of the sustainable finance sector, proposing solutions to challenging obstacles and exploring topics including impact investing, social impact bonds and green banking. Providing real-life case studies from Europe, Latin America and Africa, this book is an insightful and timely read for scholars interested in sustainable finance, social impact investing, development finance and alternative finance.

• climate change
• environmental challenges
• sustainable investment
• impact investment
• socially responsible investing
• sustainable development goals
• SDGs
• impact bonds
• social impact bonds
• green bonds
• green banking
• microfinance
• alternative finance
• social entrepreneurship
• financial inclusion
• development finance

• Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

  Mario La Torre

• G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Pescara, Italy

  Helen Chiappini

Mario La Torre is Professor of Banking and Finance at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, and author of the blog Good in Finance. His research revolves around banking, financial intermediaries and financial innovation. Also an expert in ethical finance, microfinance and finance for the audiovisual industry, Mario is series editor of Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance. He is a member of the Board of the Italian National Body for Microcredit and was previously a member of the G8 Taskforce on Social Impact Investments. As well as publishing in academic journals, Mario is the co-editor of the book, Socially Responsible Investments (Palgrave, 2019).

Helen Chiappini is Assistant Professor at G. D’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy, where she teaches Sustainable Finance and Corporate Finance. Additionally, she teaches Impact Investing at the Pontifical Lateran University of the Vatican City. Helenis the sub-series editor of Palgrave Studies in Green Finance and Guest Editor of Sustainability. Her areas of research include green finance, impact investments, socially responsible investments and microfinance. She has written and co-edited two books: Social Impact Funds (Palgrave, 2017) and Socially Responsible Investments (Palgrave, 2019).

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