How can finance, innovation, and public policy drive change towards sustainable economies and societies? We explore how financial mechanisms, technological breakthroughs, and institutional frameworks can accelerate climate action, restore nature, and drive inclusive growth. Our research bridges research disciplines to develop evidence-based solutions that mitigate climate change, reduce biodiversity loss, build resilience, and support economic transformation. 

Latest Publication Highlights

Below find the group's publications since 2024. For a full list of Prof. Egli's publication record, please see Google Scholar.

Finance is a key enabler of the green transition but mobilizing capital at the necessary scale is challenging. Our research explores how innovative financial instruments, blended finance, and regulatory frameworks can de-risk and stimulate investments in green technologies. Amongst others, we examine the role of institutional investors, public-private partnerships, and international climate finance in accelerating decarbonization and biodiversity restoration. 

Finance publications:

• Isah, A., Egli, F., Schmidt, T. S., & Stünzi, A. (2025). Quantifying climate finance needs in the nationally determined contributions of developing countries. Climate Policy, 1-18.DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2025.2460607
• Egli, F., Grubb, M., & Stünzi, A. (2024). Harnessing oil and gas superprofits for climate action. Climate Policy, 1-8. DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2024.2424516
• Calcaterra, M., Aleluia Reis, L., Fragkos, P., Briera, T., de Boer, H. S., Egli, F., ... & Tavoni, M. (2024). Reducing the cost of capital to finance the energy transition in developing countries. Nature Energy, 9(10), 1241-1251. DOI: 10.1038/s41560-024-01606-7

Innovation drives the change in the economic structure required for the green transition, but turning breakthroughs into scalable solutions often requires tailored policy support. Our research examines how policies, finance, and market dynamics shape the development, diffusion, and adoption of climate and nature-positive technologies. We identify barriers and success factors to move from lab to market with novel methods including machine learning.

Innovation publications & working papers:

• Toetzke, M., Probst, B., Feuerriegel, S., Anadon, L. D., & Hoffmann, V. H. (2024). Machine Learning Can Help Track Climate Technology Innovation. Available at SSRN 4810933. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4810933
• Toetzke, M., Probst, B., & Feuerriegel, S. (2023). Leveraging large language models to monitor climate technology innovation. Environmental Research Letters, 18(9), 091004. DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/acf233

Policies often have far-reaching effects on costs, opportunities and livelihoods. To avoid electoral backlash to such changes, regions, firms and people may need support in the transition. Our research investigates how governments can design policies to build the political backing to sustain these in the long run. To do so, we provide data and frameworks besides empirical policy impact evaluations.

Policy Design publications:

• Zaussinger, F., Schmidt, T. S., & Egli, F. (2025). Skills-based and regionally explicit labor market exposure to the low-carbon transition in Europe. Joule. DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2024.101813
• Egli, F., Knecht, N., Sigurdsson, F., & Sewerin, S. (2025). The politics of phasing out fossil fuels: party positions and voter reactions in Norway. Climate Policy, 25(1), 15-28. DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2023.2276207
• Doronina, I., Arlt, M. L., Torres, M. G., Doronin, V., Grêt-Regamey, A., Schmidt, T. S., & Egli, F. (2024). Why renewables should be at the center of rebuilding the Ukrainian electricity system. Joule, 8(10), 2715-2720. DOI: 10.1016/j.joule.2024.08.014
• Hirmer, S., Tomei, J., Yang, P., Leonard, A., Trotter, P., Millot, A., Egli, F., van Dam, K., Beltramo, A. and Stringer, M., 2024. Inconsistent measurement calls into question progress on electrification in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Energy, 9(9), pp.1046-1050. DOI: 10.1038/s41560-024-01609-4
• Noll, B., Schmidt, T. S., & Egli, F. (2024). Managing trade-offs between electric vehicle taxation and adoption. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1(7). DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100130