New Frontiers in Sustainable Finance

Call for Papers – New Frontiers in Sustainable Finance

Journal: China Finance Review International
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Submission window: 31 October 2025 – 31 July 2026

This special issue explores cutting‑edge developments at the intersection of finance and sustainability, with a focus on how financial markets, corporate behaviour, and regulatory frameworks can align economic growth with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. It seeks empirical and theoretical work that advances both academic understanding and practical innovation in sustainable finance, especially in the context of climate‑risk exposure, digitalisation, and evolving capital‑market structures.

Why this issue matters

• As the global economy transitions toward sustainability, financial institutions, firms, and regulators are increasingly integrating ESG factors, climate‑risk metrics, and green‑finance instruments into core decision‑making.

• This SI explicitly links sustainable‑finance theory with real‑world policy and practice, asking how capital markets, corporate governance, and digital‑finance tools can support climate‑resilient and equitable development.

• The issue aims to become a reference point for future research on sustainable finance, with high impact on academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

Key topic areas

Papers are encouraged to explore, but are not limited to:

• ESG integration and financial performance

  • How ESG scores, climate‑risk exposures, and sustainability‑oriented strategies affect firm valuation, risk, and return.

  • Links between ESG performance and investor behaviour, liquidity, and market efficiency.

• Corporate decarbonisation and climate‑risk management

  • Corporate responses to climate‑risk disclosures and carbon‑transition pressures.

  • Measurement and management of climate‑related financial risks (physical and transition risks).

• Corporate governance and ESG oversight

  • Board structures, executive incentives, and ownership patterns related to ESG and sustainability objectives.

  • The role of institutional investors and activist shareholders in steering ESG agendas.

• Energy and carbon markets

  • The financialisation of energy and carbon markets and their impact on price discovery and hedging.

  • Integration of carbon allowances, offsets, and green derivatives into financial portfolios.

• Innovation, digitalisation, and financial markets

  • Role of FinTech and AI in enabling ESG‑integrated investing, green‑finance platforms, and climate‑risk analytics.

  • Digitalisation of ESG data and climate‑risk reporting.

• CSR, reputation, and competitive advantage

  • How sustainability‑driven CSR strategies influence brand reputation, customer loyalty, and market positioning.

  • Firm‑level case studies of successful or contested ESG‑transformation paths.

• Green bonds and sustainability‑linked instruments

  • Design, pricing, and impact of green bonds, sustainability‑linked loans, and similar contracts.

  • Detecting and preventing “greenwashing” and ensuring credibility of sustainability‑linked performance targets.

• Banking and climate change

  • Lending behaviour and capital‑allocation patterns under climate‑risk stress‑testing frameworks.

  • Prudential and macroprudential implications of climate‑related risks in the banking sector.

• Mandatory disclosure and regulatory frameworks

  • Effectiveness of mandatory ESG and climate‑risk disclosure regimes on market transparency and firm behaviour.

  • Cross‑border and national‑level regulatory innovations in sustainable finance.

Submissions can be empirical, theoretical, or policy‑oriented, provided they clearly connect financial‑market mechanisms with sustainability outcomes and offer actionable insights for firms, investors, and regulators.

Guest editors

• Sabri Boubaker, EM Normandie Business School (France) / University of Swansea (UK)

• Peng‑Fei Dai, Wuhan University of Technology, China

• Chengbo Fu, University of Northern British Columbia, Canada

• Xiaohong (Sara) Wang, Northeastern Illinois University, USA

Submission details

• Submission portal: ScholarOne Manuscripts for China Finance Review International:
  https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cfri

• During submission, select the special issue title:
  “New Frontiers in Sustainable Finance”.

• Key deadlines:

  • Opening date: 31 October 2025

  • Closing date: 31 July 2026

• All manuscripts must follow the journal’s Author Guidelines:
  https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/cfri

• Submitted articles must not be under review elsewhere or previously published.

Papers selected for the SI are expected to be rigorous, methodologically sound, and policy‑relevant, with clear implications for building a more sustainable and resilient global financial system.

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