Wiring the Future

This book explores the financial and regulatory dimensions shaping the electrification of society, an essential step towards global sustainable development. It critically examines the interplay between traditional financial metrics and the pressing need for substantial investments in green infrastructure, a requirement for achieving the ambitious targets set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The book addresses the central question of how to mobilize the financial sector and raise the necessary capital to finance the large initial costs associated with long-term investments in environmental sustainability and economic resilience. It explores how the government can encourage investments into a green energy transition and offers a look at both financial and social returns provided by sustainable energy investments into, e.g. energy-autonomous building or community projects or automated electric vehicle refueling stations.

With an assembly of scholarly contributions from diverse regions of the world, integrating a multitude of perspectives on the challenges and opportunities inherent in the electrification process, this book is of interest to sustainable finance scholars, practitioners, and regulators.

Thomas Walker is Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Finance (ISF), and Professor of Finance and Concordia University Research Chair in Emerging Risk Management at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.

Aphrodite Salas is Associate Professor of Journalism at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where her research focuses on collaborative journalism with Indigenous communities and the decolonization of journalism education.

Moein Karami is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Concordia University. He holds a BSc in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA in Strategy. In 2021, he graduated with a doctoral degree in Finance from the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University.

Akram Sadati is an MSc graduate of the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University, where she studied Finance. She currently serves as a Research Associate at the Jacques Ménard–BMO Center for Capital Markets, Concordia University.