While sustainable finance has expanded as a tool for climate action and capital mobilisation, research has largely focused on aggregate flows rather than how mechanisms are structured and governed. This gap limits understanding of who benefits, how risks are distributed, and whether financial flows reach vulnerable populations or concentrate benefits among well-capitalised actors.
The special issue interrogates institutional practices, governance structures, and implementation processes shaping sustainable finance outcomes. It addresses critical questions about fund allocation decisions, accountability, inclusion of local communities, and adaptability of financial models across diverse contexts, particularly in the Global South.
This collection invites theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented research reconceptualising sustainable finance as a process of value creation and accountability. The goal is to scrutinise governance frameworks, distributional effects, and capacity to support genuinely fair and inclusive transitions across different contexts.