Dragica Stojanović

Coordination economic growth with sustainable development and green transition is a universal challenge for most countries. Setting up regional economies on the road to sustainable development requires shifting investment from natural resource intensive industries and greenhouse gas emissions towards a new and more efficient model of development. In this model of development the central role is taken by the financial sector, i.e. green finance and eco-inovation. Green finance is a new area of finance that has its application in the process of integrating environmental protection and economic profit. The aim of the paper to explore the role of green finance and eco-innovations in the transition to a green economy. The methodological basis of the article are the fundamental the theory of green finance and innovative development. The conclusions demonstrate the urgent need for a green transformation and the importance of developing a policy for financing eco-innovation activities that might enable eco-friendly business practices for present and future generations.

This paper explores the importance and practical aspects of the application of smart systems in heating, with a special emphasis on the Tado smart thermostat. Digital transformation within the framework of the green economy contributes to the development of sustainable and energy-efficient solutions that reduce energy consumption, costs and emissions. The analysis of specific data on household energy consumption during the winter months has shown that the application of smart systems can bring savings of up to 31%, while at the same time increasing user comfort. The integration of smart technologies into heating systems is an important step towards digitalization, reducing the ecological footprint and developing new lifestyle habits aimed at more rational use of energy.

The paper provides insight into the behavior of non-ferrous metal prices on the London Stock Exchange during the health crisis caused by the spread of coronavirus in the period January 22 - October 30, 2020. The aim of this paper is to determine a statistically significant relationship between the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 and non-ferrous metals prices copper, aluminum, zinc, nickel, lead and tin. A simple linear regression was used in the paper to obtain results. Following the report of the World Health Organisation and the introduction of restrictive measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the results of the regression support the fall in nonferrous metals prices on the London Stock Exchange. Also, the results suggest that the measures taken to address the negative economic consequences of the health crisis are associated with rising non-ferrous metal prices. As the economic impact of the pandemic is still uncertain, through an indicative review of current impacts, the conducted research also provides an opportunity to predict the price of non-ferrous metals in the future. The assumption that price stability in the metal market depends on the degree of control of pandemic COVID-19 provide a basis for future research.

The paper analyzes the sources of Southeastern European countries' economic development financing - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania, Macedonia, and Serbia in the period from year 2009 to year 2018. The research focus is on the one hand directed towards the analysis of the economic growth rate, the share of domestic savings and the current account balance. On the other hand, particular attention in the analysis is given to the data on the dynamics of foreign direct investment. The analysis in the paper indicates that due to the lack of domestic savings and difficulties with foreign borrowing, in the observed period, foreign direct investment was the most represented source of financing for economic development. The analysis for the SEE countries also shows that the lack of domestic savings caused the unfavorable structure of foreign direct investment flows with the end result of a low economic growth rate. When it comes to the relevance of foreign direct investment for the long-term economic development of Southeastern European countries, the paper concludes that a more active development policy is needed, aimed at increasing the share of domestic savings in gross domestic product as well as the growth of the domestic investment. Simply put, in present circumstances, it is unrealistic to rely heavily on foreign investments.

The term "Green financing" is a new area of finance that has application in the process of integrating environmental protection i.e. global destinations and economic benefit. This term includes wide ranges of technologies, projects and industries that are largely related to nature, habitat and sites, confirming that it is a sustainable concept of balancing environmental depreciation in the process of carbon assimilation in the atmosphere. In essence, green funding is part of the green carbon reduction project linking financial industry, natural destinations improvement and countries' economic growth, which is an important form of long-term sustainable development. As this is an innovative concept, the paper pays special attention to the development of market mechanisms and the formulation of green financing policy in order to preserve destinations. By revealing internal contradictions between the green financing and environmental protection in achieving ecological balance and sustainable economic growth, the authors suggest some options for mobilizing private capital for green investments that can be applied in Serbia. The paper compares two countries - destinations, Indonesia and Serbia in the sector of green financing. The authors of the paper highlighted the differences between the economies of Indonesia, as a representative of the ASEAN Association, and Serbia, in a way that Indonesia is far ahead of Serbia considering the concepts of green financing and sustainable development. The aim of the paper is the author's intention that good practice from countries that have already paved the way for sustainable development and green economy, i.e. green financing, can be adopted in Serbia, which is at the very beginning of it. Indonesia was chosen as the representative of Asia Pacific countries, despite being one of the leaders in the area of green finance in the region, and because in the past, the country had a similar economic structure like Serbia, but also found ways to improve its economy. Perhaps the good practice of Indonesia could serve as an example of Serbia in achieving sustainable development, green economy and green financing!

The paper analyses green bonds as sources of financing renewable energy projects. Green bonds are a relatively new form of financing and thanks to increased investors’ climate awareness, the market has seen an enormous growth in the last few years. Therefore, the guidelines and standards adopted in financial markets clearly indicate what should be considered a green investment and are a key to further development of the market and achieving the goals of green financing. The goal of the theoretical approach to green bond market in the paper is to identify the key barriers that prevent many countries from taking advantage of this new but growing source of financing renewable energy. The lack of appropriate institutional arrangements for managing green bonds, issuing a minimum volume and high transaction costs are the key obstacles to the development of green bond market. The overall conclusion of the paper is that with just the right measures, many countries could make full use of green bonds to finance climate change adaptation and mitigation projects and thus increase renewable energy capacities.

The essence of the paper is a new concept of finance, which is synchronized with the environmental processes of the planet development - green finance. Green finance is positioned between the financial industry, sustainable economic development, and environmental protection. Banks can play a relevant role in promoting environmental sustainability by financing environmentally and socially responsible projects. To fulfill this role, the banking sector in certain countries has adopted the concept of Green Banking which promotes environmentally responsible financing and sustainable internal processes. The paper aims to study the role of banks in sustainable economic development through green banking activities. Building on the theoretical concept of green finance and green banking activities, it is ultimately suggested that developing green banking products are is a proactive idea that might enable eco-friendly business practices for present and future generations.

In the last decades, foreign direct investments and export have generally been considered key drivers of global economic integration. This paper pays special attention to analysis of possible impact and relationship between foreign direct investment, exports and economic growth of countries. When looking at Serbia as a country that is still in the process of transition, due to its characteristics in terms of impact on long-term economic development, the main purpose of this paper is the research and analysis of connectivity between foreign direct investments, export and economic growth measured by gross domestic product of Serbia in the period from 1998 to 2016. With the use of statistical-quantitative analysis, the paper has produced the results that indicate that foreign direct investments and export positively influence the economic growth of Serbia. Having in mind that the impact of foreign direct investments and export is positive, the conclusions of the research can be useful in creating appropriate policies and strategies for further economic growth and development of Serbia.

The papers investigates the influence of futures market development and green product trading on companies’ share prices on global markets. Green markets are nowadays characterized by rapid growth and development which particularly refers to CO2 emissions market. The basic objective of the paper is to analyze the current level of development of the emissions market growth in Europe and expand the theoretical understanding of futures trading with this type of products. As an important indicator of new products and tendencies in commodity futures market trading, the paper examines the impact of futures trading on CO2 on European Energy Exchange (EEX) and market value of companies’ shares from the sectors of energy and mining, transport, processing industry and financial services. Starting from the fact that market value indicators provide shareholders with necessary information, such as return on investment, the basic micro fundamental indicators have been chosen: average share price, EPS, P/E ratio, P/B ratio, and market capitalization. The results obtained confirm the knowledge that CO2 emissions trading on the futures market does not have the same impact on every market values indicator of a company and that it varies by analyzed sectors.