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Environmental Hazards and Risk Management in the Financial Sector: A Systematic Literature Review

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  • Miriam Breitenstein
  • Duc Khuong Nguyen
  • Thomas Walther

Abstract

We conduct a systematic literature review on environmental and climate related risk management in the financial sector. The systematic literature review identified a total of 36 relevant articles. A formal coding leads to the aggregation and classification of papers to three main categories that consider the impact of environmental concerns on financial risk, the current state of environmental risk practices in the finance sector, and lastly measures to assess those risks within financial institutions. Our results put forward the risk reduction for financial institutions which highly commit with environmental responsibility and performance. More importantly, investors’ increase in awareness and willingness to assess climate-related financial risk would incentivize corporate managers to adopt more proactive environmental policies and practices. These findings also allow for intriguing discussions about several alleys for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Miriam Breitenstein & Duc Khuong Nguyen & Thomas Walther, 2019. "Environmental Hazards and Risk Management in the Financial Sector: A Systematic Literature Review," Working Papers on Finance 1910, University of St. Gallen, School of Finance.
    • Handle: RePEc:usg:sfwpfi:2019:10
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    Cited by:

    1. Breitenstein, Miriam & Anke, Carl-Philipp & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Walther, Thomas, 2019. "Stranded Asset Risk and Political Uncertainty: The Impact of the Coal Phase-out on the German Coal Industry," MPRA Paper 101763, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Toan Luu Duc Huynh & Thomas Walther & Sebastian Utz, 2022. "Green and Sustainable Finance in the Asia-Pacific Markets: An Introduction to the Special Issue," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer;Japanese Association of Financial Economics and Engineering, vol. 29(1), pages 1-3, March.
    3. Louis Daumas, 2021. "Should we fear transition risks - A review of the applied literature," Working Papers 2021.05, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    4. Cepni, Oguzhan & Demirer, Riza & Pham, Linh & Rognone, Lavinia, 2023. "Climate uncertainty and information transmissions across the conventional and ESG assets," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Zongwei Li & Jianing Chen & Yanhui Zhang, 2023. "Can “Internet Plus” Enhance the Green Transition? The Moderating Roles of Environmental Regulation and Sewage Fee-to-Tax," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    6. D'Orazio, Paola & Hertel, Tobias & Kasbrink, Fynn, 2022. "No need to worry? Estimating the exposure of the German banking sector to climate-related transition risks," Ruhr Economic Papers 946, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Neil Gunningham, 2020. "A Quiet Revolution: Central Banks, Financial Regulators, and Climate Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-22, November.
    8. Dong, Xiyong & Yoon, Seong-Min, 2023. "Effect of weather and environmental attentions on financial system risks: Evidence from Chinese high- and low-carbon assets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    9. Huang, Chenchen & Luo, Di & Mukherjee, Soumyatanu & Mishra, Tapas, 2022. "To Acquire or to Ally? Managing Partners’ Environmental Risk in International Expansion," MPRA Paper 117591, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Jan 2023.
    10. Thiago Christiano Silva & Fabiano José Muniz & Benjamin Miranda Tabak, 2023. "The Impact of Government Disaster Surveillance and Alerts on Local Economic and Financial Conditions," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(2), pages 559-591, February.
    11. Robert Wilby & Xianfu Lu, 2022. "Tailoring climate information and services for adaptation actors with diverse capabilities," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 1-13, October.

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    Environment; Climate; Risk Management; Banking; Financial Institutions;
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