The dissertation was defended at the public meeting of the Dissertation Defence Council of the Scientific Field of Economics in the Aula Doctoralis of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University at 10 a.m. on 4 October 2024.
Green finance is a way of financing climate change mitigation, adaptation and other environmental challenges. Along with the green economy concept, green finance contributes to disseminating global environmental challenges and how these challenges can be overcome. One area of environmental challenge is waste and sustainable waste management for sustainable urban development, where the green economy and green finance disciplines can have a significant positive impact. The dissertation addresses the insufficiently effective use of the green finance model applicable to reducing municipal waste and following the “zero-waste” principles in the scientific literature and practice. It aims to develop and empirically test a green finance model that would lead to rational economic decisions for the sustainable development of zero-waste cities. The dissertation consists of an introduction, three chapters, and general conclusions. The First Chapter aims to determine the green finance concept within related economic theories, concepts, methods, and models. It provides insights into other interrelated concepts, such as bio-economy, low-carbon finance, climate finance, and socio-environmental finance. Additionally, it provides a review of the green finance instruments. The Second Chapter investigates the role of waste management within economic theories and establishes the concept of zero-waste and inter-municipal cooperation. It also shapes the strategy for developing zero-waste cities with the active involvement of green finance mechanisms. The Second Chapter describes the methods for forming a green finance model for developing zero-waste cities. The Third Chapter provides empirical approval results of the green finance model for developing zero-waste cities on the Lithuanian regional level. A set of general conclusions and recommendations for future research complete the dissertation. Five publications on the discussed study were published: two in the reviewed scientific journals, and three in conference proceedings.