The discussion about the development of sustainability and green banking regulations is an ongoing and evolving process that can help chart a new course for sustainable banking and finance in the coming years. As more countries adopt sustainable finance regulations, there is an opportunity to explore why such approaches may be successful and whether they should be implemented in industrialized countries as well. Hence, what would be a research agenda that addresses the question of whether industrialized countries should follow those that have implemented sustainable finance regulations?
Kern (2014) states the need for financial policy and regulation to be both aligned with environmental policy and regulation and coordinated so that the objectives and understanding of each area of expertise can be shared between the relevant agencies. This need cannot be denied, but questions remain regarding why financial and environmental policies are not aligned in industrialized countries and whether they should be aligned.
An argument against integrating sustainability into financial regulations is that as long as good E&S regulations are in place and banks follow the law and regulations, there is no need for integration of these issues in financial regulations. This, however, may be correct for basic E&S issues such as environmental pollution. Even for one of the most pressing issues of our time, greenh