Switzerland ratified the Paris Agreement in 2017. However, its application remains incomplete and therefore ineffective in many areas, such as finance. Switzerland has spent a considerable amount of time and effort claiming to be a leader in sustainable finance but developing various strategies to avoid regulation in this area. In this paper, we compare the advantages and disadvantages of the legisla- tive process versus self-regulation. Our conclusion is that binding regulation is needed to ensure that financial flows contribute to finding a way of reducing greenhouse gases, developing climate resilience and taking sustainability aspects into account in investment and financing decisions.