Catching up with sustainable development in emerging markets through financial innovation

Sustainable development is a desideratum pursued by various categories of stakeholders, and the efforts that have been made at the international level have been considerable both for establishing coherent and achievable objectives and for finding the tools to achieve them and to adequately finance specific activities. Thus the emphasis should be on the concept of investing for positive social and environmental impact alongside economic return and not on investing purely for profit. Given the complexity of the sustainable development phenomenon, finding funds is essential for financing specific processes such as the energy transition or the transition to a low-carbon economy. The chapter aims to identify the main financial instruments that are used internationally to finance the sustainable development process. Specifically, this chapter explores sustainable financing tools, focusing on the impact of projects, programs, and portfolios and not only profit, emphasizing the intersection of finance and technology, financial innovation in the green economy, ecological issues, and women’s inclusion.