Green Finance and Corporate Strategy: Challenges and Opportunities

A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability and Finance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 243

Special Issue Editor

Business School, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Interests: corporate finance; climate finance; credit rating and risk; voluntary disclosure; debt market; IPO

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the global economy moves toward sustainable development, green finance has emerged as a vital catalyst in reshaping corporate strategy. Financial instruments such as green bonds, ESG-linked loans, sustainability indices, and carbon pricing are no longer niche but now central to how firms manage climate-related risks, allocate capital, and drive long-term innovation. These instruments not only influence access to finance, but also influence how companies define their strategic priorities, stakeholder engagement models, and competitive positioning.

This Special Issue aims to explore the evolving relationship between green finance and corporate strategy, with a focus on the opportunities and challenges that firms face in integrating environmental objectives into core business decisions. We welcome the submission of original research that examines how firms adapt their corporate strategies to align with green finance instruments, such as green bonds, sustainability-linked loans, carbon markets, ESG indices, and climate risk disclosures. This Special Issue will address the following topics in particular:

  • Strategic adaptation to ESG regulations and sustainability disclosure requirements;
  • The role of green finance in corporate innovation, investment, and risk management;
  • Sectoral and regional differences in green finance implementation;
  • Financial markets’ influence on corporate sustainability performance.

As environmental and climate challenges intensify, understanding how green finance shapes corporate behavior is both timely and essential. This Special Issue provides a platform for interdisciplinary insights that help academics, practitioners, and policymakers navigate the complex transition toward sustainable and responsible capitalism.

Dr. Lewis Liu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • green finance
  • sustainable investment
  • climate risk disclosure
  • ESG regulation
  • carbon markets
  • green bonds pricing

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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27 pages, 570 KB  
Systematic Review
Green Bond Pricing: A Comprehensive Review of the Empirical Literature
by Lewis Liu and Yanqi Hu
J. Risk Financial Manag. 2025, 18(12), 689; https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm18120689 (registering DOI) - 3 Dec 2025
Viewed by 44
Abstract
As green finance grows, green bonds have become an essential tool for funding sustainable projects. While many studies explore whether green bonds exhibit a “green premium,” existing literature reviews often lack depth, timeliness, and consistent methodology. This paper addresses these gaps by systematically [...] Read more.
As green finance grows, green bonds have become an essential tool for funding sustainable projects. While many studies explore whether green bonds exhibit a “green premium,” existing literature reviews often lack depth, timeliness, and consistent methodology. This paper addresses these gaps by systematically reviewing 70 empirical studies on green premiums published up to 2025, making it the most comprehensive review to date. We organize the literature by region (Global, U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific), market segment, premium dimension, data source, and estimation method, offering a structured framework to analyze diverse findings. Our analysis reveals a consistent negative green premium of −12.44 bps on average across most markets, with European and Asian markets showing higher yield spreads than the U.S. Studies using more recent data report smaller premiums, and larger bond issues tend to have lower premiums. Despite variations in methods and data sources, the overall results are consistent. This paper provides an updated overview of green premium research and offers key insights for investors, issuers, and policymakers on green finance pricing and investment strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Finance and Corporate Strategy: Challenges and Opportunities)
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