Abstract
Climate change is posing daunting challenges to our societies. Such
challenges are increasingly recognized by policymakers, practitioners and academics.
Indeed, to limit the negative impact of human activities on the climate, 193
governments signed, in December 2015, the “Paris Agreement” aimed at stabilizing
global temperature on 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Meeting this goal requires
massive private and public investments in low-carbon technological development,
thus requiring a new role for the financial system and policymakers in the climate-finance
nexus. Indeed, the financial system is expected to play a major role in shaping
the speed, timing and pace of a sustainable transition by mobilizing capital. At
the same time, policymakers ought to implement effective measures to foster new
technologies and investments necessary to achieve a sustainable growth path. In
addition, policymakers face the challenge to tackle the potential economic and
financial risks associated to an uncoordinated low-carbon transition. In this chapter,
we will employ a complexity perspective to study the risks, challenges and opportunities
involved in the green transition, taking also into consideration the possible
non-linearities, tipping points and path-dependency that characterize the co-evolution
of climate, financial markets and economic dynamics.
challenges are increasingly recognized by policymakers, practitioners and academics.
Indeed, to limit the negative impact of human activities on the climate, 193
governments signed, in December 2015, the “Paris Agreement” aimed at stabilizing
global temperature on 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Meeting this goal requires
massive private and public investments in low-carbon technological development,
thus requiring a new role for the financial system and policymakers in the climate-finance
nexus. Indeed, the financial system is expected to play a major role in shaping
the speed, timing and pace of a sustainable transition by mobilizing capital. At
the same time, policymakers ought to implement effective measures to foster new
technologies and investments necessary to achieve a sustainable growth path. In
addition, policymakers face the challenge to tackle the potential economic and
financial risks associated to an uncoordinated low-carbon transition. In this chapter,
we will employ a complexity perspective to study the risks, challenges and opportunities
involved in the green transition, taking also into consideration the possible
non-linearities, tipping points and path-dependency that characterize the co-evolution
of climate, financial markets and economic dynamics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Systemic Turn in Human and Natural Sciences. A Rock in The Pond |
| Editors | Ulivi, L. |
| Place of Publication | Contemporary Systems Thinking |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Pages | 1 - 23 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-3-030-00725-6 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |