There is a substantial gap between the level of understanding climate change experts have, and Australia's financial services sector, according to a study by the Financial Services Institute of Australia (Finsia) and Griffith University's Sustainable Business Research Initiative.

"This sector analysis suggests despite the education and training efforts of climate change professionals, considerable confusion continues to surround the terms of debate, and the significant role the financial services industry can play in transferring to a low carbon economy," Finsia chief executive Martin Fahy said.

The study found there was a perception that sustainable investment products were too high risk to be recommended to clients, and that they lack robust returns.

There was also found to be a lack of leadership at both national and global levels, with few organisations prepared to be early movers.

"Clearly there are passionate leaders, experts and early movers already working towards a low carbon economy, but at the wider institutional level, mainstream buy-in has been inadequate," Fahy said.

With the financial crisis putting more pressure on the industry, there needs to be more information, training and leadership, to demonstrate this is a mainstream issue, he said.

Finsia and Griffith University hope to narrow the knowledge gap by "providing a capacity building framework to enable the industry to become a leader in allocating capital to low carbon solutions," Fahy said.