Editorial: Current Issues in Governance, Economics & Finance: Towards Ecosystems

Global governance, finance, and economic systems are experiencing a period of profound transformation driven by interlinked and compounding disruptions. The cascading effects of COVID-19, climate change, geopolitical instability, and resurgent economic nationalism have exposed structural weaknesses in prevailing institutional frameworks and challenged the capacity of existing models to ensure stability, resilience, and social legitimacy. These crises have intensified global uncertainty and highlighted the urgent need for adaptive, ecosystem-based strategies that integrate economic performance with social and environmental sustainability (WEF, 2025; IMF, 2024; World Bank, 2024). The recent resurgence of protectionist policies and nationalist agendas has further fragmented global markets, eroded multilateral trust, and tested the boundaries of international cooperation. Amongst these disruptions, the rapid rise of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) priorities has redefined the parameters of accountability and corporate legitimacy. Accelerated by global initiatives such as the European Green Deal and the 26th and 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference 2026 (COP26 & COP27), ESG investment is projected to reach $33.9 trillion by 2026 (PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC),2022). Yet, the increasing prominence of ESG has also exposed conceptual and practical tensions between sustainability rhetoric and real impact. Persistent greenwashing, divergent disclosure standards, and fragmented regulatory approaches continue to obscure the line between symbolic compliance and substantive transformation (Asteriou et al., 2024; Fan et al., 2025). These inconsistencies underscore the need for coherent global frameworks capable of restoring confidence, aligning incentives, and fostering transparent sustainability governance. In response to these challenges, international standard-setting bodies and national regulators are moving towards integrated, ecosystem-based governance models. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), established under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation at COP26, has begun developing comprehensive sustainability metrics that extend beyond financial disclosure to include water, biodiversity, and ecosystem impacts, complemented by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Similarly, national frameworks such as the United Kingdom (UK) Corporate Governance Code (2024) and the UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards (UK-SDS, 2024) embed ESG accountability directly within board-level governance, strategic risk management, and reporting systems. Together, these developments signify a paradigmatic shift towards outcome-based, multi-stakeholder governance that integrates integrity, resilience, and environmental responsibility into the core of institutional and corporate decision-making. Against this backdrop, this Special Issue brings together theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented contributions that critically examine how governance, economics, and finance can adapt to these complex transformations. Collectively, the papers advance an interdisciplinary dialogue that moves beyond fragmented, short-term responses towards integrated, ecosystem-oriented frameworks capable of enhancing institutional legitimacy, driving sustainability innovation, and ensuring long-term economic and social value creation.