IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bog/econbl/y2022i55p83-105.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green finance in Europe: actors and challenges

Author

Listed:
  • Sofia Anyfantaki

    (Bank of Greece)

  • Petros Migiakis

    (Bank of Greece)

  • Katerina Paisiou

    (Bank of Greece)

Abstract

Addressing climate change through mitigation and adaptation measures requires changes in policies, technologies and consumption behaviours towards a low-emissions model of growth. These structural changes require appropriate financial solutions, in order to scale up financial flows that support sustainable growth. This paper focuses on the European dimension and considers the role of financial markets in the process of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation. Global green bond markets have grown rapidly in recent years. Based on issue- and issuer-specific data, we find that the global market activity for financing projects within the scope of a green bond issuance has accelerated during the last years, with the aggregate amount of bonds issued in the period 2019-21 almost tripling compared with the period 2014-18. Moreover, we show that European markets and issuers lead this development, while private sector entities are increasingly making use of green bond markets as a source of funding. On the other hand, funding from green bond markets has been directed to few sectors of the economy, underlining the need for some policy-related initiatives. The increase in green bond issuance has come during a period of easy financial conditions, which could further highlight the need for policy initiatives aimed at enhancing the provision of incentives to investors towards green financing in the present changing financial market landscape. The improvement of the credibility, comparability and transparency of ESG ratings and assessments of CRAs is important to support sound investment decision-making and risk management, including those of central banks, which are increasingly incorporating climate change issues in their operations.

Suggested Citation

  • Sofia Anyfantaki & Petros Migiakis & Katerina Paisiou, 2022. "Green finance in Europe: actors and challenges," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 55, pages 83-105, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bog:econbl:y:2022:i:55:p:83-105
    DOI: 10.52903/econbull20225504
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.52903/econbull20225504
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.52903/econbull20225504?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Panagiota Tzamourani, 2013. "The Household Finance Survey: description of the 2009 survey and main results on households’ income, wealth and debt in Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 38, pages 85-101, November.
    2. repec:bog:econbl:y:2016:i:43:p:31-53 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Theodoros S. Papaspyrou, 2004. "EMU strategies for new Member States: the role of Exchange Rate Mechanism II," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 23, pages 7-25, July.
    4. Miles Livingston & Jie (Diana) Wei & Lei Zhou, 2010. "Moody's and S&P Ratings: Are They Equivalent? Conservative Ratings and Split Rated Bond Yields," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(7), pages 1267-1293, October.
    5. Evangelia Papapetrou & Dimitrios Bakas, 2013. "The Greek labour market during the crisis: unemployment, employment and labour force participation," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 38, pages 65-83, November.
    6. Daphne Nicolitsas, 2005. "Per capita income, productivity and labour market participation: recent developments in Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 25, pages 37-60, August.
    7. Darren D. Lee & Robert W. Faff, 2009. "Corporate Sustainability Performance and Idiosyncratic Risk: A Global Perspective," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 44(2), pages 213-237, May.
    8. repec:bog:econbl:y:2015:i:42:p:7-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Zacharias Bragoudakis & Stelios Panagiotou, 2010. "Determinants of the receipts from shipping services: the case of Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 34, pages 41-55, September.
    10. Evangelos Charalambakis, 2021. "Stock price reactions to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 53, pages 69-82, July.
    11. Sofia Lazaretou, 2015. "How can the use of historical macroeconomic data series support economic analysis and policy-making? The new Greek macro history database 1833-1949 as part of the large database of Southeastern Europe," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 41, pages 71-101, July.
    12. Costas N. Kanellopoulos, 2014. "The private sector Greek labour market during the crisis," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 39, pages 21-36, July.
    13. Petros M. Migiakis, 2012. "Reviewing the proposals for common bond issuances by the euro-area sovereign under a long-term perspective," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 37, pages 43-54, December.
    14. Goss, Allen & Roberts, Gordon S., 2011. "The impact of corporate social responsibility on the cost of bank loans," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1794-1810, July.
    15. Eleni Argiri & Ifigeneia Skotida, 2021. "The 2021 review of the monetary policy strategy of the Eurosystem: an economy of forces," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 54, pages 23-57, December.
    16. Evangelia Kasimati & Nikolaos Veraros, 2019. "Raising Capital Through Issuance of Common Shares by Greek-Controlled Maritime Companies in US Capital Markets," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 49, pages 59-71, July.
    17. Rudolf Alvise Lennkh & Edmund Moshammer, 2018. "Sovereign Ratings: An Analysis of the Degree, Changes and Source of Moodys Judgement," Working Papers 27, European Stability Mechanism.
    18. Theodore M. Mitrakos & Nicholas G. Zonzilos, 2006. "The impact of exogenous shocks on the dynamics and persistence of inflation: a macroeconomic model-based approach for Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 26, pages 37-57, January.
    19. Theodora Kosma & Pavlos Petroulas & Evangelia Vourvachaki, 2020. "What drives wage differentials in Greece: workplaces or workers?," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 69-72, December.
    20. Theodoros Mitrakos & Panos Tsaklogou & Ioannis Cholezas, 2010. "Determinants of the wage rates in Greece with an emphasis on the wages of tertiary education graduates," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 34, pages 7-40, September.
    21. Dimitra Dimitropoulou & Anastasia Theofilakou, 2021. "Explaining the cross-country differences in the economic fallout during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 53, pages 29-48, July.
    22. repec:bog:econbl:y:2015:i:42:p:43-104 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Evangelia Kasimati & Dimitrios Sideris, 2015. "Towards a new growth model for tourism: structural reforms and the tourism product in Greece during the crisis (2008-2014)," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 42, pages 7-19, December.
    24. Sophia Lazaretou, 2014. "The smart economy: cultural and creative industries in Greece. Can they be a way out of the crisis? (in Greek)," Working Papers 175, Bank of Greece.
    25. Sofia Anyfantaki, 2016. "The evolution of financial technology (FinTech)," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 44, pages 47-62, December.
    26. Sofia Anyfantaki & Hiona Balfoussia & Dimitra Dimitropoulou & Heather Gibson & Dimitris Papageorgiou & Filippos Petroulakis & Anastasia Theofilakou & Melina Vasardani, 2020. "COVID-19 and other pandemics: a literature review for economists," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 51, pages 1-36, July.
    27. Daphne Nicolitsas, 2006. "Female labour force participation in Greece: developments and determining factors," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 26, pages 7-35, January.
    28. Petros Migiakis, 2014. "The international financial markets as a source of funding for Greek non-financial corporations," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 40, pages 59-78, December.
    29. Zacharias Bragoudakis & Dimitrios Sideris, 2012. "Do retail gasoline prices adjust symmetrically to crude oil price changes? the case of the Greek oil market," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 37, pages 7-21, December.
    30. Tim Verheyden & Robert G. Eccles & Andreas Feiner, 2016. "ESG for All? The Impact of ESG Screening on Return, Risk, and Diversification," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 28(2), pages 47-55, June.
    31. Evangelos Charalambakis, 2017. "How did the Greek financial crisis impact on households? A comparison between the two waves of the HFCS," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 31-45, July.
    32. Heinemann, Friedrich & Osterloh, Steffen & Kalb, Alexander, 2014. "Sovereign risk premia: The link between fiscal rules and stability culture," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 110-127.
    33. George T. Simigiannis & Panagiota G. Tzamourani, 2007. "Borrowing and socio-economic characteristics of households: results of sample surveys carried out by the Bank of Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 28, pages 31-50, February.
    34. Evangelos Th. Pantelidis & Georgios A. Kouvatseas, 2006. "Frontier Survey on Travel Expenditure: methodology, presentation and output assessment (2003-2005)," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 27, pages 63-106, July.
    35. Dimitris Papageorgiou, 2021. "Macroeconomic effects of shocks to import and services sector prices," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 54, pages 7-21, December.
    36. Ioanna Bardaka & Athina Rentifi, 2021. "The importance of selected structural competitiveness indicators for exports: a comparative analysis between the euro area and Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 54, pages 59-78, December.
    37. Daphne Nicolitsas, 2007. "Youth participation in the Greek labour market: developments and obstacles," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 29, pages 37-88, October.
    38. Eliwa, Yasser & Aboud, Ahmed & Saleh, Ahmed, 2021. "ESG practices and the cost of debt: Evidence from EU countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    39. Zacharias Bragoudakis, 2014. "An empirical investigation of the relationship between unit labour cost and price developments: the case of Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 40, pages 31-58, December.
    40. Balfoussia Hiona, 2008. "Stock market integration-the athens exchange in the european financial market," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 30, pages 29-55, May.
    41. Hiona Balfoussia & Dimitrios P. Louzis, 2021. "The impact of economic uncertainty and inflation uncertainty on the Greek economy," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 53, pages 49-68, July.
    42. Sophia Lazaretou, 2016. "The Greek brain drain: the new pattern of Greek emigration during the recent crisis," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 43, pages 31-53, July.
    43. Faidon Kalfaoglou, 2016. "Bank recapitalisation: a necessary but not sufficient condition for resuming lending," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 43, pages 55-75, July.
    44. Feng, Xiaoli & Li, Wenjing & Peng, Yuanhuai & Tan, Youchao, 2021. "International trade friction and the cost of debt: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    45. Sophocles N. Brissimis & Evangelia A. Georgiou, 2022. "The effects of Federal Reserve's quantitative easing and balance sheet normalization policies on long-term interest rates," Working Papers 299, Bank of Greece.
    46. Evangelia Georgiou, 2018. "Financing constraints and firm characteristics evidence from Greek SMEs," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 48, pages 7-27, December.
    47. Heather Gibson & Hiona Balfoussia, 2010. "The impact of nominal and real uncertainty on macroeconomic aggregates in Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 34, pages 57-71, September.
    48. Sophia Lazaretou, 2014. "The smart economy: cultural and creative industries in Greece: can they be a way out of the crisis?," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 39, pages 73-103, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Phoebe Koundouri & Konstantinos Dellis & Angelos Plataniotis, 2023. "The Green Transformation of Europe: challenges, opportunities, and the way forward," DEOS Working Papers 2320, Athens University of Economics and Business.
    2. Phoebe Koundouri & Conrad Landis & Konstantinos Dellis & Angelos Plataniotis, 2024. "Integrating SDGs in ESGs and the Sustainability Transformation of the EU Business Sector," DEOS Working Papers 2401, Athens University of Economics and Business.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sofia Anyfantaki & Yannis Caloghirou & Konstantinos Dellis & Aikaterini Karadimitropoulou & Filippos Petroulakis, 2022. "Skills, management practices and technology adoption in Greek manufacturing firms," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 55, pages 7-42, July.
    2. Christos Catiforis, 2022. "Post-pandemic inflation: Phillips Curve, trends, drivers and lessons," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 55, pages 43-65, July.
    3. Nikos Ventouris & Georgios Palaiodimos, 2022. "Proposals for the reform of EU fiscal rules," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 55, pages 67-81, July.
    4. Constantina Backinezos & Stelios Panagiotou & Evangelia Vourvachaki, 2020. "Multiplier effects by sector: an input-output analysis of the Greek economy," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 7-28, December.
    5. Theodora Kosma & Pavlos Petroulas & Evangelia Vourvachaki, 2020. "What drives wage differentials in Greece: workplaces or workers?," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 69-72, December.
    6. Nikos Vettas & Konstantinos Peppas & Sophia Stavraki & Michail Vasileiadis, 2020. "The contribution of Industry to the Greek economy: facts and prospects," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 29-67, December.
    7. Ioannis Asimakopoulos & Athanasios P. Fassas & Dimitris Malliaropulos, 2020. "Does earnings quality matter? Evidence from the Athens Exchange," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 52, pages 93-112, December.
    8. Nikolaos Vettas & Alexandros Louka & Konstantinos Peppas & Yakinthi Pountouraki & Michael Vasileiadis, 2022. "Trends in total factor productivity in Greece and its determinants during the period 2005-2019," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 56, pages 7-43, December.
    9. Melina Vasardani & Dimitra Dimitropoulou, 2018. "The utilisation of EU structural funds in Greece," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 31-55, July.
    10. Zacharias Bragoudakis, 2018. "Are the price adjustments asymmetric in basic food categories? The case of the Greek food market," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 75-91, July.
    11. Christos Antonopoulos & Sofia Anyfantaki & Theodora Kosma & Evangelia Papapetrou & Filippos Petroulakis & Pavlos Petroulas & Pinelopi Zioutou, 2022. "The Greek Labour market before and after the pandemic: slack tightness and skills mismatch," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 56, pages 45-74, December.
    12. Ioanna C. Bardakas, 2022. "Energy consumption by energy type and exports of goods in Greece: a comparative analysis in relation to the euro area," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 56, pages 75-92, December.
    13. Pinelopi Zioutou & Dimitris Sideris, 2018. "The energy sector: developments and prospects," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 57-73, July.
    14. Hiona Balfoussia & Dimitris Papageorgiou, 2018. "Real and financial cycles in the Greek economy," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 47, pages 7-30, July.
    15. Heather D Gibson & Georgia Pavlou, 2017. "Exporting and performance:evidence from Greek firms," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 7-30, July.
    16. Theodora Kosma & Evangelia Papapetrou & Georgia Pavlou & Christina Tsochatzi & Pinelopi Zioutou, 2017. "Labour market adjustment and labour market reforms in Greece during the crisis: findings from the third wave of the Wage Dynamics Survey," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 47-62, July.
    17. Evangelos Charalambakis, 2017. "How did the Greek financial crisis impact on households? A comparison between the two waves of the HFCS," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 31-45, July.
    18. Ioannis Chatzivasiloglou, 2017. "The valuation of assets and liabilities of (re)insurance undertakings under solvency II," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 45, pages 63-90, July.
    19. Christos Papazoglou & Dimitrios Sideris & Orestis Tsagklas, 2016. "Europe as an optimum currency area: the experience of the Baltic countries," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 44, pages 35-46, December.
    20. Konstantina Manou & Evangelia Papapetrou, 2016. "The economic behaviour of households in Greece: recent developments and prospects," Economic Bulletin, Bank of Greece, issue 44, pages 7-33, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    green bonds; green finance; ESG; credit ratings; greenwashing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bog:econbl:y:2022:i:55:p:83-105. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Anastasios Rizos (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/boggvgr.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.