Growing green or greenwashing growth? Sustainable finance and forests

Summary

As global deforestation and forest degradation continue, there is a pressing need for innovative forest policy solutions. The financial system is thought to have helped to exploit forests by investing in and lending to companies contributing to forest destruction and unsustainable management. Current efforts to make the financial system more sustainable and boost green growth with "sustainable finance" therefore offer new opportunities to influence forest development. This thesis looks at the different interests and ways of thinking that affect the potential of sustainable finance to provide policy solutions and finance for forests. Furthermore, it zooms in on the development process of the forestry criteria of the so-called “EU taxonomy”– a new piece of legislation in Europe that aims to classify green economic activities. However, the EU taxonomy has sparked controversy regarding the sustainability of "sustainable" finance, including in the context of forests and forestry.