Economist, researcher and academic lecturer specialising in sustainable finance, green transformation, institutional economics, public policy, local-government finance, digital transformation and artificial intelligence in finance. Her work connects climate and energy policy with investment, financial governance, innovation and the institutional conditions of economic transformation. She has extensive international teaching and conference experience in Europe, Latin America and Africa.

Financing the AI-Enabled Green Transition: Institutional Quality and Clean Energy Investment in the European Union

Abstract: The European Union's climate objectives depend not only on the volume of capital mobilized, but also on the institutional capacity to direct finance toward clean energy and low-carbon innovation. This paper examines whether digitalisation and artificial intelligence readiness strengthen the relationship between institutional quality and green investment across EU Member States. It develops a twin-transition framework that integrates sustainable finance, institutional economics and digital governance. The empirical design uses a panel of EU countries and combines indicators of governance quality, digital capacity and AI readiness with measures of renewable energy development, environmental investment, energy intensity and macro-financial conditions. Fixed-effects models with lagged explanatory variables and robustness checks are proposed to test whether stronger institutions increase green investment directly and whether digital capacity amplifies this effect. Additional analysis considers differences between countries with stronger and weaker institutional environments, as well as risks arising from algorithmic opacity, unequal access to finance, data concentration and cyber dependence. The study contributes to the climate finance debate by treating artificial intelligence neither as a purely technical solution nor only as an environmental cost, but as a financial and institutional capability whose climate value depends on governance. The paper argues that effective climate policy should combine incentives for clean energy investment with digital infrastructure, transparent AI governance, public-sector competence and mechanisms that reduce financing gaps for firms and local governments. The framework offers practical relevance for EU sustainable finance, banking, public policy and implementation of the European Green Deal.

Keywords: Green finance, Artificial intelligence, Institutional Quality, Clean energy investment, Twin transition, European Union