Climate Finance Futures: Technological Forecasting and Governance

Submit your manuscript here from 16 October 2025! 

This Special Issue advances interdisciplinary knowledge on climate finance, integrating forecasting, governance, and digital innovations to provide conceptual insights, practical recommendations, and inclusive, solution-oriented roadmaps for sustainable futures.

Introduction

Climate finance has become one of the most critical pillars in addressing the escalating global challenges of climate change, particularly in supporting mitigation, adaptation, and resilience strategies. As the world moves toward ambitious targets outlined in international frameworks such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the need for effective, transparent, and innovative climate finance mechanisms has never been more urgent. Yet, despite growing attention, research, and practice often remain fragmented, focusing either on the flow of funds, governance structures, or specific sustainable finance instruments in isolation.

This Special Issue is designed to address this gap by bringing together diverse perspectives that integrate technological forecasting, governance mechanisms, and digital innovations into a holistic understanding of climate finance futures. It aims to foster interdisciplinary scholarship that goes beyond traditional approaches to climate finance. It seeks to explore how financial flows can be forecasted more accurately, governed more effectively, and innovated more inclusively to meet global sustainability imperatives. To achieve this aim, the Special Issue invites high-quality contributions that employ diverse methodologies—ranging from quantitative modelling and qualitative analysis to foresight techniques, simulation models, and comparative case studies. The expectation is that manuscripts will not only offer strong theoretical and conceptual insights but also provide practical recommendations that can directly inform policy, professional practices, and decision-making at multiple levels. By creating a platform for rigorous and solution-oriented dialogue, the Special Issue aspires to contribute to the design of climate finance systems that are adaptive, equitable, and forward-looking. What distinguishes this Special Issue from existing literature is its emphasis on the interplay of technological forecasting, governance frameworks, and digital innovations within climate finance. While prior research has shed light on individual elements—such as the flow of capital, accountability mechanisms, or the potential of sustainable financial instruments—few studies have examined how these elements intersect to shape future pathways.

This Special Issue addresses that critical intersection. By integrating foresight-driven approaches with digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and fintech solutions, it introduces a novel interdisciplinary perspective that can reimagine how climate finance is mobilized, allocated, and monitored. Additional dimension of originality lies in the Special Issue’s balance between conceptual advancement and empirical application. It goes beyond theory to present lessons from real-world experiences, regional case studies, and comparative analyses that can highlight best practices as well as barriers. By capturing diverse regional contexts, the Special Issue acknowledges the uneven landscape of climate finance across developed and developing economies and emphasizes the importance of inclusivity in shaping global solutions. In doing so, it creates space for knowledge exchange between scholars and practitioners, ensuring that academic insights remain relevant to those directly engaged in mobilizing resources for climate action. '

Finally, this Special Issue aims to provide not just an academic contribution but an actionable roadmap for the future of climate finance. It will help answer pressing questions about what constitutes effective climate finance and, more importantly, how it can be forecasted, governed, and innovated in practice. By foregrounding inclusivity, transparency, and technological readiness, the Special Issue aspires to chart a path toward a climate finance ecosystem that is sustainable, resilient, and future-ready.

List of topic areas

• Forecasting Climate Finance Flows: advancing models and methodologies to estimate future needs, flows, and risks in climate finance.
• Digitalization and FinTech Innovations: exploring AI, blockchain, big data, and digital platforms for enhancing transparency and efficiency
• Governance Mechanisms: examining global, national, and multi-stakeholder frameworks to ensure accountability, equity, and effective deployment
• Foresight-Driven Instruments: applying scenario building, early warning systems, and strategic foresight to design adaptive finance tools
• Sustainable and Inclusive Finance Innovations: showcasing blended finance, ESG, just transition strategies, and case studies with cross-regional insights.

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijccsm 
Author guidelines must be strictly followed. Please see: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/ijccsm 
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to "Please select the issue you are submitting to".
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else while under review for this journal.

Key deadlines

Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 16/10/2025 
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 15/06/2026