Call for papers

As we convene at SESTEF 2025, the urgency of aligning economic and financial systems with COP29’s outcomes has never been clearer. Academia, policymakers, and practitioners are called to bridge gaps between policy ambition and actionable strategies, particularly in mobilizing finance for decarbonization, nature-positive economies, and resilient infrastructure. Against this backdrop, SESTEF 2025 will serve as a vital platform to translate COP29’s frameworks into scalable solutions, addressing themes such as:

• Climate Finance Innovations: Aligning investments with net-zero pathways and just transition principles.
• Biodiversity-Economy Nexus: Integrating natural capital into fiscal policy and corporate governance.
• Energy Justice: Ensuring equitable access to clean energy and phasing out fossil fuel dependence.
• Circular Economy Systems: Scaling regenerative production and consumption models.
• Adaptation Finance: Prioritizing funding for climate-vulnerable regions.

By fostering collaboration across disciplines and sectors, SESTEF 2025 will catalyze actionable insights to meet 2030 targets and beyond, ensuring that the legacy of COP29 drives tangible progress toward a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future: 

I. Climate Risks and Corporate Finance

I.1. Carbon Disclosure, Risk Management, and COP29’s Enhanced Transparency Mandates

I.2. Carbon Risk, Firm Value, and Investor Expectations Post-COP29

I.3. Climate Risks in Mergers & Acquisitions: Aligning with Fossil Fuel Phase-Out Commitments

I.4. Corporate Sustainability and Resilience in a 1.5°C-Aligned Economy

I.5. Climate Risks and AI-Driven Financial Technologies for Decarbonization

I.6. Climate Regulation and COP29’s Global Subsidy Phase-Out Framework

I.7. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Era of Mandatory Biodiversity Reporting

I.8. Economic Implications of Climate Risks: Stranded Assets and Just Transition Costs

I.9. Equity/Debt Costs in a Low-Carbon Economy: COP29’s Financing Mechanisms

I.10. Green Corporate Governance: Embedding Climate-Biodiversity Dual Materiality

I.11. Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion in Climate Finance Decision-Making

I.12. Stranded Assets: Managing Risks for Energy-Intensive Firms Under COP29 Targets

II. Energy Markets and Sustainability

II.1. Behavioral Economics of Energy Markets: Accelerating Consumer Adoption of Renewables

II.2. Climate Risks and Energy Market Volatility Post-COP29

II.3. Digitalization and Grid Modernization for COP29’s 2030 Targets

II.4. Econometric Modeling of Energy Market Shocks in a Net-Zero Era

II.5. Smart Grids and Demand-Side Management: Equity in Energy Access

II.6. Energy Security and Diversification Post-Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform

II.7. Emissions Trading Systems: Linking Carbon Markets to Biodiversity Credits

II.8. Financialization of Energy Markets: Speculation vs. Sustainability

II.9. Hydroelectricity and Water-Energy Nexus in Climate-Vulnerable Regions

II.10. Innovative Pricing Models: Subsidizing Renewables, Penalizing Carbon

II.11. Energy-Financial Market Interactions: COP29’s Impact on Commodity Trading

II.12. Energy Market Shifts: COP29-Driven Regulatory Innovations

III. Resource Policy and Environmental Economics

III.1. Carbon Cycle Analysis: Natural Carbon Sinks and COP29’s 40% Ecosystem Protection Goal

III.2. Renewable/Non-Renewable Resource Policy: Phasing Out Fossil Fuels in Developing Economies

III.3. Resource Degradation, Health, and Climate-Induced Migration

III.4. Agricultural Economics: Sustainable Land Use and Biodiversity Co-Benefits

III.5. Behavioral Responses to COP29’s Global Plastic Pollution Treaty

III.6. Policy Evaluation: Effectiveness of Carbon Pricing Post-COP29

III.7. Institutional Governance of Transboundary Resources in a Warming World

III.8. Intergenerational Equity: Resource Allocation Under Climate Tipping Points

III.9. Modeling Environmental Economics: Scenario Analysis for 2030 Targets

III.10. Natural Capital Valuation: Integrating Biodiversity into Welfare Metrics

III.11. Resource Pricing: True Cost of Environmental Externalities

III.12. Resource Scarcity: Financing Circular Economy Transitions

IV. Transition to Carbon-Neutral Energy Systems

IV.1. AI/ML for Optimizing Renewable Energy Grids Post-COP29

IV.2. Circular Economy: Waste-to-Energy Systems and Material Efficiency

IV.3. Clean Energy Technologies: Scaling Green Hydrogen and Bioenergy

IV.4. Decentralized Energy Systems: Community Ownership and Equity

IV.5. Energy Security in a Geopolitically Fragmented Renewable Era

IV.6. Financing Energy Storage: Batteries, Pumped Hydro, and COP29’s Innovation Fund

IV.7. Low-Carbon Transportation: Subsidies for EVs and Green Public Transit

IV.8. Funding Transitions: Blended Finance for Global South Renewable Projects

IV.9. Just Transition: Reskilling Workers in Fossil Fuel-Dependent Regions

IV.10. Life Cycle Assessment: Net-Zero Compliance and Greenwashing Risks

IV.11. Renewable Technologies: Cost-Benefit Analysis of Nuclear vs. Solar/Wind

IV.12. Nuclear Energy: Public Perception and Safety in Low-Carbon Mixes

V. Economic and Financial Aspects of Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions

V.1. Biodiversity Loss: Macroeconomic Risks and Supply Chain Disruptions

V.2. Biodiversity Metrics: Mandatory Reporting Frameworks Post-COP29

V.3. Biodiversity Net Gain: Financing Urban Green Infrastructure

V.4. Biodiversity-Positive Strategies: Corporate Partnerships with Indigenous Communities

V.5. Commodification of Nature: Ethics of Biodiversity Offsetting

V.6. Financial Instruments: Blue Bonds and Biodiversity-Linked Derivatives

V.7. Nature-Based Solutions: Synergies with COP29’s Climate Adaptation Fund

V.8. Conservation Investment: Pay-for-Success Models and Impact Metrics

V.9. Human Well-Being: Economic Value of Ecosystem Services

V.10. Natural Capital Accounting: Integrating into National GDPs

V.11. Nature-Based Co-Benefits: Carbon Sequestration and Flood Mitigation

V.12. Sustainable Agriculture: Financing Regenerative Practices

VI. Sustainable Finance

VI.1. Cultural Drivers of Green Investment Behavior Post-COP29

VI.2. ESG Performance: Regulatory Scrutiny and Greenwashing Litigation

VI.3. Circular Economy Funding: Venture Capital for Zero-Waste Startups

VI.4. Green Banking: Central Bank Mandates for Climate Stress Testing

VI.5. Sustainable Financial Instruments: Transition Bonds and Sustainability-Linked Loans

VI.6. Impact Investing: Metrics for Biodiversity and Social Equity

VI.7. DEI in Finance: Gender-Lens Investing for Climate Resilience

VI.8. Socially Responsible Investment: Divestment from Fossil Fuels

VI.9. Finance and SDGs: Closing the $4 Trillion Annual Funding Gap

VI.10. Social Bonds: Financing Affordable Green Housing

VI.11. Sustainable Real Estate: Climate-Proofing Infrastructure

VI.12. Weather Derivatives: Hedging Risks in Agriculture and Energy