Includes bibliographical references and index.

Key Regulatory Initiatives in the EU Sustainable Banking -- Exploring Sustainability Risk Management in the EU Banking Industry -- Alexandra-Cristina Hanganu -- Abstract -- Keywords -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Methodology & Conceptual Framework -- 3 Sustainability - A Cross-Industry Salient Topic -- 4 Regulatory Reforms Addressing Sustainability -- 5 Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Risks -- 6 An Adjusting Banking Industry -- 7 Sustainability Implementation - A Strategic Opportunity or Burden? -- 8 Discussions -- 9 Conclusion -- Figures -- Tables -- Abbreviations -- Notes on Contributor -- References.

With temperature exhibiting a growing trend and posing threats to future generations, the Paris Agreement set a cap level of no more than 2°C for the temperature increase, emphasizing the need for cross-national participation to combat climate change. At the European level, the European Commission pledged to make Europe achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century. However, to deliver on its commitment, extensive financial support and engagement from both private and public-sector players were acknowledged as requisites. Therefore, through their funding mechanism, banks assumed a leading role in financing the transition to a green economy. However, a new challenge of systemic nature - i.e. ESG risks - emerged, gaining regulatory attention and subsequently triggering numerous regulatory reforms. Therefore, this study explores the current European regulatory environment addressing sustainability, aiming to identify whether such regulatory frameworks can be considered a strategic opportunity, or contrastingly, a strategic burden for credit institutions.

English