The accumulation of capital constitutes an enormous obstacle to the sustainability transition.
The role of the capital throughout the whole evolutionary process of civilization is undoubtedly impressive, as it has continuously delivered innovations in our everyday lives. Nevertheless, as
we argue in our study, a dominant part of capital accumulation has not fulfilled this function
in monetary and material terms as well recently; or performs at a low efficiency concerning the
ecological damage generated. Sustainability calls thus for an investment environment in the
near future that allows for the social benefits of capital accumulation through the expansion
of the material services delivered, limiting the accumulation of material stocks, resulting in
significant adverse environmental impacts remarkably in the same time. We will introduce
and compare the gains of savings and capital accumulation considering the monetary and the
material dimensions of our socio-economic system, unveiling the relevance of the capital market
in sustainability transition in this way, beyond green finance.
