Introduction to A Research Agenda for Law, Finance and the Environment

This chapter explores the inextricably entwined nature of finance and the environment through the medium of law and regulation. It introduces A Research Agenda for Law, Finance and the Environment (Bowman and Mai, 2026), which provides a much-needed 'legal voice' in sustainable finance discourse by mapping and challenging the role of law and regulation for shaping and advancing this rapidly evolving field. Using novel 'aquatic' conceptual framing with cross-cutting themes of power, purpose, and pluralism, the book comprises practice-oriented and theoretical contributions from multiple jurisdictions and diverse perspectives. Chapters in the book explore: financial instruments and institutions to directly mobilize green capital at scale; facilitative modalities to enable systemic change and mainstream sustainable finance; and unconventional ideas and interventions that seek to unsettle established ways of approaching law, regulation, and finance.