Raposo urges sustainable finance to fund business transformation
Sustainable finance must move beyond labels to fund credible business transformation, Bank of Portugal Vice-Governor Clara Raposo said in Lisbon. Growth in financial products has not fully translated into the productive investment required.
Labels give way to investment
Raposo said sustainable finance needs both realism and evolution: markets have grown considerably but unevenly, and expansion has slowed in some markets.
Growth in sustainable financial products has not yet fully translated into the scale of productive investment required.
She called for a more mature model that moves beyond an excessive focus on labels and commitments.
Its priorities would be financing credible business transformation, strengthening resilience and supporting long-term prosperity.
Raposo framed this argument at the Commission on Environment, Social and Governance (CESG) Conference 2026 in Lisbon, whose theme asked whether sustainable finance needs reinvention or a reality check.
Competing transformations strain funding
Geopolitical fragmentation, constrained fiscal space and concerns about security and resilience shape the financing environment, Raposo said.
Energy costs and industrial competitiveness have also moved to the forefront.
Economies must fund decarbonization, defense, digitalization, demographic adaptation and infrastructure at the same time.
Investment needs are considerable, but obstacles and competing demands for funds remain.
These pressures form the economic setting for her call to change the financing model.
Product growth is not enough
Raposo distinguishes growth in sustainable products from financing economic transformation.
Her proposed model centers on credible business change and resilience rather than labels.
Competing investment demands explain why she places productive investment at the center of sustainable finance.