Confronting stasis and navigating pathways of change in green finance: Researcher agencies, emotions, and normativities

Abstract The promise or intent of change is a fundamental feature of ‘green’ finance. Despite many observable and notable changes in financial discourse, disclosure practices, products, and regulatory reforms, many green finance researchers are also painfully aware of the various ways in which green finance falls short of its promise. Being confronted with stasis creates feelings of frustration and gives rise to fundamental questions about the role of researchers in conducting research in this area and their normative stances towards their research objects. To generate movement away from stasis, this article calls for a more explicit consideration of researchers’ agency, emotions, and normativities in green finance research. Drawing on the metaphor of paths and path-making – a generative tool for thinking across various disciplines – it outlines different types of agency that can help researchers in orienting themselves along different pathways of change. In reflecting on these agencies, the article advocates for fostering explicit discussions on the diverse normative stances present in green finance research. This approach aims to inspire opportunities for collective authorship on specific and pressing questions, ultimately enhancing the collective agency of socio-economic scholarship in the field of green finance.