JRC Summer School on Sustainable Finance, 8th edition

The sustainable finance field is continually evolving, enhancing understanding through new evidence and exploring novel topics.

Rapid global developments underscore the need for sustainability as a driver of competitiveness. At the same time, multilateral support is essential to harmonize and enforce regulations across geographies, unlock the much-needed financial resources to fill the transition investment gap in developed and emerging economies, and continue steering investments towards primary market decarbonisation and alignment with the Paris Agreement. In this respect, tracking capital flows to sustainable instruments and measuring their sustainability performance remain crucial for policymakers to monitor market interest and mitigate greenwashing risks, bridging the gap between the increasingly digitising real economy and the financial and investment sector.

Beyond the climate transition, nature finance is rapidly gaining interest among researchers, policymakers, and investors. Environmental degradation and biodiversity loss represent key risk factors for financial stability, and mobilizing investments to preserve nature and ecosystem services has become a significant challenge that financial markets can help respond to.

Additionally, technological advances are pushing the boundaries of possibilities. In particular, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is creating opportunities regarding climate-related and sustainability data and modelling, while digital finance is extending the tools through which investors can have a sustainability impact.

For these reasons, the JRC Summer School on Sustainable Finance aims to bring together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to discuss recent developments and innovations in the field of sustainable finance. By doing so, it exposes researchers to the most demanding issues faced by the industry and helps them produce policy-relevant research. At the same time, it provides independent scientific advice to policy, reaffirming the crucial role of research in informing policy-making.

Organisation of the School

The school addresses different types of communities, including scientists and policy officers working at public and/or international institutions, as well as private-sector experts active in the field of sustainable finance. To facilitate cross-fertilization and promote the development of policy-relevant research and science-based policy, the event will feature both academic sessions and more policy-oriented lectures.

Papers in the broader field of sustainable finance are welcome for presentation. 

The event and the social dinner are free of charge upon registration. However, participants will need to cover their travel and accommodation costs. The JRC will provide practical assistance in booking reasonably-priced accommodation in the local area and arrange local transportation. 

Venue

The event will be held in-person at the JRC’s premises in Ispra (Italy), and it will also be possible to follow from remote. The JRC in Ispra is the third biggest European Commission site after Brussels and Luxembourg. Established in 1960 as a nuclear research site, is today one of Europe’s leading research campuses with many laboratories and unique research infrastructures. Ispra is beautifully set at the foot of the hills with a splendid view on Lake Maggiore, Lombardy region, and lakeside pedestrian walks. The nearest big city is Milan (60 km), Malpensa airport is around 30 min. drive from the JRC.

Submission procedure

Please send a full paper or an extended abstract to JRC-FINANCEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-FINANCE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) with “Submission Summer School on Sustainable Finance” in the email’s subject line, by March 29, 2026.

Registration

A link to register for in-person and remote attendance will be circulated with the programme. 

Key dates

Deadline for paper submission: March 29, 2026

Notification of acceptance: April 24, 2026

School dates: June 25-26, 2026

Organisers

Prof. Andreas G. F. Hoepner, Asst. Prof. Fabiola Schneider

For the European Commission - Joint Research Centre: 

Lucia Alessi, Giacomo Cotignano

Contact: JRC-FINANCEec [dot] europa [dot] eu (JRC-FINANCE[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)