Green finance has emerged as a transformative mechanism for achieving sustainable economic development by integrating environmental sustainability with financial decision-making. The increasing challenges posed by climate change, environmental degradation, and resource depletion have encouraged governments, financial institutions, and private investors to allocate capital toward environmentally sustainable projects. Green finance encompasses financial instruments such as green bonds, green loans, sustainability-linked loans, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investments, climate finance, and carbon financing that promote low-carbon and climate-resilient economic growth. This paper reviews recent developments in green finance and examines its contribution to sustainable economic development through a systematic review of contemporary literature. The study analyzes the evolution of green financial instruments, policy frameworks, investment trends, and their impact on economic growth, renewable energy development, environmental protection, employment generation, and financial inclusion. The paper further discusses the challenges hindering green finance implementation, including regulatory inconsistencies, greenwashing, limited disclosure standards, inadequate investor awareness, and financing constraints in developing economies. The review also highlights the role of technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, fintech, and big data analytics in improving transparency, risk assessment, and investment efficiency in green financial markets. Based on recent empirical evidence, the paper concludes that green finance significantly contributes to sustainable development by encouraging environmentally responsible investments while supporting long-term economic resilience. Finally, policy recommendations and future research directions are proposed to strengthen global green financial ecosystems and accelerate progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Rejaul Karim, Md. Mustaqim Roshid, Bablu Kumar Dhar, Abdul Waaje
This study explores the evolving role of green financial technology (Fintech) in sustainability-oriented financial innovation, with a particular focus on climate finance, digital innovation, and environmental governance. Using bibliometric methods, we analyze 72 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus from 2019 to 2024 to map the intellectual structure and emerging trends of green Fintech research. Key technological domains, including blockchain-based carbon markets, AI-powered ESG analytics, and green digital payment systems, are frequently associated in the literature with several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). This analysis reveals how digital financial innovations are conceptualized as mechanisms for facilitating access to green capital, strengthening carbon credit ecosystems, and enhancing transparency in climate-aligned investment. However, persistent barriers such as fragmented regulatory frameworks, cybersecurity risks, and digital divides are recurrently identified in the literature as constraints, particularly in emerging economies. Interpreted through Institutional Theory and Stakeholder Theory, the study highlights the importance of coordinated policy innovation, inclusive digital infrastructure, and harmonized ESG standards in shaping the diffusion and governance of green Fintech solutions. By positioning theory as an interpretive lens rather than an empirical test , this research offers a theory-informed, data-driven synthesis that contributes to the growing interdisciplinary discourse on digital finance as a potential enabler of low-carbon, inclusive, and resilient sustainability transitions.
Under the dual carbon targets, China's energy companies are speeding up their green transformation, but they usually encounter some common obstacles including lack of capital, weak technical assistance and an incomplete risk control system. The combination of digital technology and financial services provides new approaches to solve these problems. According to the specific characteristics of the transformation of energy enterprises, this research examines the mechanisms of digital finance from two aspects – financing enhancement and technological enhancement. It is found that methods such as digital green loans, bonds and equity financing can efficiently relieve the financial pressure of enterprises, while technologies like big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence can greatly improve the accuracy of emission reduction and the efficiency of energy operation. Furthermore, the enhancing effects have regional differences and threshold characteristics. Thus, countermeasures are put forward from four fields: improving service provision, deepening technological integration, setting up a risk management system and improving policy regulation, which offer guidance for the actual transformation of energy enterprises and the development of relevant policies.