On November 3, 2025, CIEL had the honor of welcoming Professor Deborah Kay Burand from New York University School of Law (NYU Law) for an academic exchange with CIEL Associate Director Professor Yueh-Ping Yang and Professor Chao-Hung Chen. The discussion focused on key issues surrounding sustainable finance and impact investing.

Linking Sustainable Finance Education and Market Practice
The professors agreed that sustainable finance education should go beyond institutional and regulatory frameworks. A genuine understanding of market mechanisms, transaction structures, and stakeholder motivations is essential to grasp the full picture of sustainable finance. Legal education, therefore, should move beyond a purely doctrinal focus to engage with real-world market practices and cultivate more comprehensive analytical skills.

Challenges in Scaling Impact Investing
As impact investing expands, it faces the risk of drifting away from its original mission. Professor Burand emphasized the importance of addressing “impact risk.” Taking microfinance as an example, she noted that without thoughtful design, it may inadvertently increase burdens on intended beneficiaries. Defining, measuring, and managing such risks remains a shared challenge for both academia and industry.

Opportunities and risks of integrating AI into governance
Professor Burand also shared insights on how international sovereign wealth funds are integrating AI to enhance due diligence, data verification, and consistency monitoring. While AI offers analytical advantages, it is gradually evolving from a supporting tool to a decision-shaping force—posing new governance and accountability challenges for future investment management.

The exchange also highlighted Taiwan’s positioning in sustainable finance research. Professor Burand encouraged CIEL to continue strengthening cross-border collaborations and developing case-based research, enabling Taiwan’s academic contributions to gain greater international visibility. CIEL will continue to expand international engagement, foster interdisciplinary dialogue, and integrate theoretical and practical perspectives to actively shape global conversations and advance the long-term vision of sustainable development.