Dr. Sebastian Rink
I study how financial systems interact with climate policy — and where they fall short. Researcher in sustainable finance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management.
What I work on
Sustainable finance sits at the intersection of financial markets, climate science, and policy design. My research explores this space from several angles.
Climate-Related Financial Risk
How physical and transition climate shocks travel through banks, credit markets, and portfolios — and how to model them rigorously.
ESG Data & Sustainability Measurement
Why sustainability data is scarce, inconsistent, and hard to use — and how to overcome it.
Sustainable Finance Regulation
The design and effects of sustainable finance rules — from the EU Taxonomy to disclosure design and prudential regulation.
Sustainable Banking & Lending
How banks integrate sustainability into lending decisions, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.
Climate Finance & Investor Behavior
Whether responsible institutional investors actually contribute to real-economy decarbonization — or mainly serve their own reputations.
Recent Papers
A selection of recent published and working papers.
A large survey experiment showing that people systematically misread corporate carbon data — overestimating the greenness of polluters and underestimating green leaders.
A survey of German banks shows that sustainable finance integration is progressing faster for large firms than for small businesses, despite SMEs' outsized economic and environmental footprint.
About
I am a researcher in sustainable finance at Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and the UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance.
My work spans climate stress testing, ESG data quality, sustainable lending, and the real-economy effects of responsible investment. Before becoming a researcher, I spent several years as a sustainable finance advisor — working with financial institutions and policymakers on net-zero frameworks, risk assessment, and the EU Taxonomy.
Beyond research, I spend time wing foiling, hold a certificate in wine, and play trumpet.
Get in touch
I am happy to hear from researchers, students, journalists, and practitioners interested in sustainable finance and climate-related questions.