Sustainable Finance

On November 26, 2025, CIEL Director, Vice President Wang-Ruu Tseng , delivered the opening remarks at the “Sustainable Finance and Financial Regulation Seminar,” setting the tone for the event. CIEL Deputy Directors Chao-Hung Chen and @Yueh-Ping (Alex) Yang also served as speakers, sharing insights on sustainable finance from the perspectives of legal frameworks, disclosure mechanisms, and regulatory tools.

Deputy Director Chen, presenting on “Indirectly Regulating Corporate Sustainability through Financial Institutions,” highlighted that while using financial institutions to restrict capital flows or influence market participants can achieve policy goals, it also raises challenges regarding legitimacy, legal applicability, costs, and governance. Indirect regulation should complement direct regulation, rather than making financial institutions an overly relied-upon policy instrument.

Deputy Director Yang, in his presentation titled “Reassessing Securities Fraud Regulation through Sustainability Disclosure,” emphasized that most sustainability disclosures are not directly related to securities fraud and are primarily addressed through administrative mechanisms. However, sustainability disclosures provide an opportunity to revisit the distinction between securities fraud and financial misrepresentation rules, as well as the interpretation of several key elements such as materiality, transaction causation, and fraud on the market theory.

The seminar brought together experts from academia, government, and industry to explore sustainable finance from multiple angles. CIEL will continue to actively participate in discussions and research on sustainable finance, working alongside stakeholders to advance a more robust legal and regulatory framework.

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.