The Role of Green and Transition Finance in Achieving Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Energy

Summary:

The Role of Green and Transition Finance in Achieving Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Energy offers a thorough yet accessible exploration of a vital, often overlooked aspect of the energy transition. Authored by leading experts, this book is organised into three sections:

• Part I. Overview of green and transition finance
• Part II. Green and transition finance for meeting carbon neutrality and ESG goals
• Part III. Policies for facilitating the energy transition

Readers will gain insights into financial instruments and mechanisms influencing global financial markets and the energy sector, focusing on ESG factors. This book covers strategies that support sustainable, green, and net-zero innovations and includes diverse tools, case studies, and global perspectives to help readers design policies, model outcomes, and track progress.
 

Readership: Graduate students, researchers, and financial and energy market experts

Gianfranco Gianfrate, Professor of Finance at EDHEC Business School contributed to the book with the chapter: Can venture capital coinvestments address cleantech underfunding?

This book chapter examines the relationship between the network prominence of venture capital (VC) firms and fund performance in the cleantech sector. While financing innovative clean technologies is essential for the transition to a low-carbon economy, evidence suggests that traditional VC financing may not be well-suited for early-stage cleantech companies.

By modeling VC networks through coinvestments, the study finds that firms with stronger network positions do not necessarily achieve better fund performance. In particular, a high “betweenness” score—indicating a brokerage role within the network—is negatively associated with successful exits and follow-on funding rounds. This suggests that the coordination costs or distractions linked to an intermediary role may hinder investment success.

These findings indicate that public funding or blended finance solutions may be necessary to effectively support cleantech innovation, as VC network prominence alone does not drive investment success in the sector.