In the article entitled "Green financing, interrupted. Potential directions for sustainable finance in Luxembourg" Local Environment, 2018 (First Online 22 January 2018) - http://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2018.1428792, Dr. Sabine DÖRRY, researcher at LISER (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research) and Dr. Christian SCHULZ, professor at the University of Luxembourg, are exploring existing and potential (yet missing) links between the financial industry and local businesses that aspire to more sustainable economic practices.

Green investments have indeed been gaining weight in global investors' strategies. Hence, we analyse and identify the key features of such financial 'greening' processes. We start from the fact that green assets are still managed overwhelmingly according to the logic of 'financialised finance', that is, subscribing to the myopic logic of shareholder value¹. Technologies of commodification, securitisation and derivatives trading allegedly oppose alternative economic practices that pursue economic sustainability through social and environmental gains. Therefore, technologies of financialised finance challenge whether and how sustainable – in the most comprehensive sense of the word – green investments could ultimately be(come).

Considering this criticism, Dr. Dörry et Dr. Schulz contrast the approach of green investments with that of alternative financial practices and analyse: How does the finance industry relate to alternative financial practices, products and organisations that offer sustainability-oriented financing services – for example, regional banks, cooperatives and the like – with a specific focus on green, social and solidarity businesses?

Both approaches subscribe to apparently contradictory ideologies. In this paper, we seek to establish a constructive dialogue between the opposing models of "green capitalism" and "alternative economies" to identify potential points of intersection. The context of Luxembourg's local/regional economies provides a great opportunity to access empirically three levels of investigation: the private sector, the public sector, and Luxembourg's international financial centre, a key facilitator for green finance. Whilst supporters of Luxembourg's emerging green finance profile recognise its positive impact on the small country's national branding, in combination with economic stimuli, more critical commentators point to possible "green washing"² effects.