„GREEN” CREDITS – A TIMID RESPONSE TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO ENCOURAGE SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENTS OR A FUTURE FOR A REAL TRANSITION TO A „GREEN” AND DIGITAL ECONOMY?

Abstract

The need for a transition to a „green” economy is indisputable. We are witnessing unprecedented and rapid climate change as a result of environmental pollution. The European Commission has been sounding the alarm for at least twenty years about switching to alternative sources of energy and environmentally friendly production. The issue has a political and economic aspect. On the one hand, political unity is needed for the adoption and implementation of the initiatives set out in the Recovery and Sustainability Plan, and on the other hand, the introduction of new „green” tools to achieve the two main goals - ecological and digital transformation. However, all this has its price and must be implemented by institutions and people who understand the need for change and have the necessary potential to implement it. One of the ways of transformation is precisely the use of the so-called „green” financial instruments, which at this stage are associated with the best developed, namely: „green” credits and „green” bonds.

This report examines, from a theoretical and applied perspective, „green” credits as instruments with which one part of the „green” transition can be carried out at this stage and accordingly assesses their role in promoting sustainable investments. The question is to what extent they are reliable alternative instruments and whether they are not just an imitation of the application of new forms of financing, or whether together with the other instruments of the money and capital market they are a real opportunity to make the desired transition and achieve sustainable ecological and digital development.