The Eu’s 'Green' Finance. Can 'Exit', 'Voice' and 'Coercion' Be Enlisted to Aid Sustainability Goals?

Abstract

Climate change is humanity’s defining problem for this century, and policymakers are trying to reform finance to aid in that goal. The flurry of activity is substantial, but is it enough? In this paper we assess the strength of the means chosen to make finance sustainable, by considering sustainability a “promise”, like the financial promise to pay a sum of money, or maximize profits, and comparing the means used to protect one and another promise, using the categories of “Exit”, “Voice” and “Coercion” to classify different legal tools. Current proposals are primarily based on transparency, and thus rely primarily on “Exit” mechanisms, and only for some instruments. Since progress is generally slow and hesitant on mechanisms relying on “Voice” and “Coercion”, and almost absent in relation to some instruments, we conclude that the current strategy is adequate for creating a market niche for green finance, but as it stands now it is not credible, as such, for the broader goal of greening financial markets as a whole.

Keywords: Sustainable finance, green securities, exit, voice and coercion mechanisms, EU Action plan