Green bonds for green projects

Madurika Nanayakkara

To be fully effective, scientific initiatives to address environmental issues need to be widely implemented by governments, industry and communities. One way to ensure this is to provide financial and other incentives to do so. Madurika is conducting important research into a financial instrument, known as green bonds, which was specially introduced to fund climate-resilient investments needed to achieve sustainable development worldwide.

“Green bonds are still in the infancy of their development. There is an absence of a comprehensive definition, standards and issuance scale for green bonds which is an obstacle to the growth of this type of investment. In-depth analysis of the green bonds market is of great importance to investors, policy makers, government agencies and general public as a whole as it will provide a better insight into the market and a well-developed definition for the issuance process.” Her research adopts a mixed method approach which combines surveys and interviews of key stakeholders with in-depth statistical regression approaches.

Originally from Sri Lanka, Madurika has a background in accounting and finance. For her PhD studies, “my decision to join FedUni was mainly influenced by the factors such as the availability of experts to provide me proper guidance and excellent research support at the FedUni particularly in the field of finance.”

Madurika considers that science research provides precise solutions to practical problems. Applying her accounting and finance social science research skills to scientific problems suits her best. “Science is exciting and joyful. Women in science are essential and I encourage them to join a career in science which will give them a passport to a world of opportunities.”