SUSTAINABLE FINANCE AND ESG INTEGRATION: CAPITAL MARKETS AS DRIVERS OF GLOBAL CHANGE
AUTHOR – RIYA BHARDWAJ, STUDENT AT CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
BEST CITATION – RIYA BHARDWAJ, SUSTAINABLE FINANCE AND ESG INTEGRATION: CAPITAL MARKETS AS DRIVERS OF GLOBAL CHANGE, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 5 (11) OF 2025, PG. 443-447, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344
INTRODUCTION
The times that we live in have been driven by a growing sense of accountability among people. This generation of humans yearn for growth but not at the cost of environmental damage, they aim for progress but not at the cost of social inequality. If we analyze the global financial landscape trends then we witness growth of a transformative trend where there has been an urgency in addressing the problems like climate change, social inequality and challenges to the corporate governance. Through this paper I aim to analyze one of the transformative shifts, i.e., the Rise of Sustainable Finance which seeks to align the flow of finance with long-term ESG objectives. Capital Markets have become a catalyst for channeling investments that are aiming to advance global development goals. Previously the integration of ESG criteria in the investment portfolio seemed to be a niche, not many companies followed but with the awareness and accountability rising in this generation of people it has now transitioned into a common practice. It is expected that by the end of 2025 around 70 percent of the global investors would be incorporating ESG factors into their portfolios and we can say that because we also have a trend going on currently where the issuance of green bonds has reached record levels[1]. Therefore, through this paper my objective is to explore how capital markets are in the forefront of the transition to a more sustainable economy.
[1] BNP Paribas, ESG Global Survey 2023: Taking Action – Institutional Investors Progress on the Path to Sustainability (2023) https://securities.cib.bnpparibas/app/uploads/sites/3/2023/12/esg-global-survey-consolidated-report.pdf, accessed 7th July, 2025