About the Chair

The Euroclear chair in sustainable finance has been created to undertake research, teaching and create wider societal impact via outstanding policy work. The Solvay Brussels School is grateful to count on the support and partnership of Euroclear for the creation of this new research Chair. The chair fits into the School’s strategic goal of becoming a leader in sustainably financing the transformations of our society. The aim of the chair is to produce outstanding research with high policy impact, create meaningful and impactful events and workshops, and train future generations of sustainability leaders.

About the Chairholder

Guntram Wolff is Professor of economics and the holder of the Euroclear chair in sustainable finance at Solvay Brussel School of Université libre de Bruxelles. He was Director of the German Council on Foreign Relations (2022-24) and Bruegel (2013-22), which he developed into a leading global institute on economic policy. He also worked for the European Commission, Deutsche Bundesbank and taught at the Universities of Pittsburgh and Erfurt. Over his career, he has contributed to research on European integration, macroeconomics, climate policy and geo- and defence economics. His work is published in leading academic journals such as Nature, Science, Research Policy, Energy Policy, Climate Policy, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Journal of Economic History, Journal of Financial Regulation and Public Choice. His co-authored book “The macroeconomics of decarbonization” was published at Cambridge University Press. He is an experienced public advisor, testifying regularly since 2013 to the informal European finance ministers’ and central bank governors’ ECOFIN Council meeting, the European Parliament, the Bundestag and corporate boards. He has also served on the Economic Analysis Council to the French Prime Minister and ranks among the top economists in international academic rankings such as Repec. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Bonn.

 

"From climate change to biodiversity and security, sustainably financing the major transformations that European societies and the world must undergo is of critical importance. I am excited and grateful to contribute as the inaugural Euroclear chairholder to Solvay Brussels School's strong research, policy, and teaching profile to shape a better future."

 

Chair activities

The chair contributes with original academic research, public conferences, teaching, policy advise as well as media outreach to the University’s international profile. Below are selected activities :

 

Research (selected publications)

  • Ushchev, Philipp and Guntram Wolff (2026) “Investing for tomorrow: long-term investment, economic scale, and the green transition”, ECARES working paper, forthcoming

  • Mejino-López, Juan and Guntram Wolff (2026) “Europe’s dependence on US foreign military sales”, Defence and Peace Economics (accepted)
 

  • Dulak, Thomas and Guntram Wolff (2026) “Greener but thinner? Assessing green bond market liquidity”, ECARES working paper -> Read the paper

  • Grabbe, H, J Pisani-Ferry, S Tagliapietra and G Wolff (2025), "Climate change mitigation and the preservation of nature: Towards a joined-up agenda", in Pisani-Ferry, J, B Weder di Mauro and J Zettelmeyer (eds), Paris Report 3: Global Action Without Global Governance: Building coalitions for climate transition and nature restoration, CEPR Press, Paris & London. -> Read the paper

  • Dewatripont, Mathias Peter Praet, André Sapir and Guntram Wolff  (2025 )“In the new geopolitical context, Europe’s banking discussions need to go beyond competitiveness”, CEPR-VoxEU. -> Read the paper

  • Wolff, Guntram, Armin Steinbach and Jeromin Zettelmeyer (2025) “The governance and funding of European Rearmament”, Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, August 2025, -> Read the paper.

  • Arancha González Laya, Camille Grand, Katarzyna Pisarska, Nathalie Tocci and Guntram Wolff (2025) “Can American abandonment help Europe? – the continent has a chance to address its own weaknesses”, Foreign Affairs, 6 January 2025 -> Read the paper., pdf.

  • Claeys G, Le Mouel M, Tagliapietra S, Wolff, G., Zachmann G. (2024) “The Macroeconomics of Decarbonisation: Implications and Policies”. Cambridge University Press; 2024. -> Read the book.

  • Gritz; Alexandra and Guntram Wolff (2023) “Gas and Energy Security in Germany and Central and Eastern Europe”, Energy Policy -> Read the paper..

  • Darvas, Zsolt and Guntram Wolff (2022) “A green fiscal pact for the EU: increasing climate investments while consolidating budgets”, Climate Policy, 2022, -> Read the paper..

  • Lenaerts, Klaas, Simone Tagliapietra  and Guntram Wolff (2022), “The global quest for green growth: an economic policy perspective”, Sustainability, 14(9), 5555 -> Read the paper..

  • Tagliapietra, S. and Wolff, G.B., 2021. "Form a climate club: United States, European Union and China." Nature, 591(7851), pp.526–528. -> Read the paper

Conferences (selected)

The chairholders organises and participates in numerous conference.

Finance for Society Initiative (With Mathias Dewatripont, Peter Praet, André Sapir and Guntram Wolff )

  • March 2026: Managing European Transitions in a challenging world (with Valérie Urbain, CEO Euroclear, Commissioner for financial services Maria Luis Albuquerque, and 15 senior speakers from academia, business and policy making)

  • February 2026: 'From savings to sustainability: long-term investors and Europe’s green transition' : -> Watch the replay

  • December 2025 : Finance for Society (SBS-EM) Conference, co-organized with Bruegel : ‘A euro safe asset to enhance Europe’s strategic autonomy?’ - Speakers: Philipp Hildebrand (Vice-Chairman, BlackRock), Niall Bohan (Director, DG Budget, European Commission), Jeromin Zettelmeyer (Director, Bruegel) and Peter Praet (SBS-EM - ULB).

  • November 2025 : Keynote panel “Geopolitical Impacts on Post Trade” at annual European Central Securities Depositories Association (ECSDA) -> Know more

  • October 2025 : ‘Rethinking Europe’s competitiveness and financial sovereignty in a changing global landscape’ Speakers : Mathias Dewatripont (SBS-EM), Jonas Schlegel (SAFE), Andrea Resti (U. Bocconi), Guntram Wolff (SBS-EM), John Berrigan (European Commission), Rebecca Christie (Bruegel) and Florian Heider (SAFE).

  • May 2025 : ‘European banking regulation and competitiveness’ - Speakers : Lorenzo Bini-Smaghi (Société Générale Chair), Tom Dechaene (NBB Director) and Peter Praet (SBS-EM).

  • January 2025 : ‘Banks, Central Banks and the Climate Transition’ – Speakers : Guntram Wolff (SBSEM), Pierre Wunsch (NBB Governor) and Estelle Cantillon (SBS-EM).
     

Teaching

  • “Topics in economics” - Bachelor level course -> Know more
  • “The economics of climate change” - Masters level seminar -> Know more
  • Doctoral seminars and reading groups


 

PhD theses supervision

  • Thomas Dulak (scheduled for 2026), PhD thesis on sustainable finance
  • Uuriintuya Batsaikhan (started in 2026), PhD thesis on sustainable finance


 

Master theses supervision

  • 2025- 2026 : Supervision of 12 Master theses on sustainable finance, defence economics and other economic questions
  • 2024-2025: Supervision of 6 Master thesis.
 

Selected media appearances

  • "Europe’s defence tech start-ups hunt for more capital", March 2026, published in Financial Times 

  • "Ökonom Wolff: Kriegswaffe Ölpreis - Russland profitiert am meisten", March 2026 published in NDR

  • “Greenland is not marginal: the US takeover threat is a strategic test for Europe”, January 2026, published in Le Monde and in Handelsblatt and Bruegel.

  • “European Climate Policy”, October 2025, on ARD1 - Main German Public Television

  • “Climate, data and complaceny – on the real costs of climate change”, October 2025, Podcast

  • “Europe’s dependence on US foreign military sales and what to do about it”, October 2025, published in: Handelsblatt, La libre belgique, To vima, Rzeczpospolita, Economista

  • "Europe’s Dilemma: Build a Military Industry or Keep Relying on the U.S.", July 2025, published in The NewYork Times

  • “L’union monétaire européenne doit renforcer son soutien militaire et financier aux pays baltes afin de garantir sa sécurité et sa stabilité “, January 2025, published in Le Monde

  • “Deutschland braucht mehr finanzielle Ressourcen für die Verteidigung – noch vor der Wahl” (with Clemens Fuest, Moritz Schularick, Armin Steinbach), November 2024, published in FAZ
Updated on March 19, 2026