Linda Zeilina-Cross: Czechs are sceptical of change – but when they embrace it, they move fast
Linda Zeilina-Cross first came to Prague in 2017 and eventually chose the Czech capital as the base for her International Sustainable Finance Centre. She tells Czechast that Czech scepticism towards new ideas can be frustrating, but also sees a country whose clean-tech sector is stronger than many Czechs realise. Recent political changes concern her, but she believes economic forces driving the transformation will be difficult to reverse.
Linda Zeilina-Cross did not set out to make Prague the centre of her professional life. Originally from Latvia, she studied and worked in Britain and Canada and built a career in sustainable finance. Her first encounter with Prague came when she was invited to speak at an event in 2017. She was impressed – but also surprised that sustainable finance had such a low profile.
When she later decided to establish an independent organisation focusing on Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, she considered several possible locations. Czech capital eventually won.
“Prague seemed to be a very good, obvious choice because it marries the culture, the intellectual history, and also has a very interesting mix of the new and the old. Because, let's be honest, there's also really great clean tech and clean solution builders in the Czech Republic.”
Today Zeilina-Cross is founder and CEO of the Prague-based International Sustainable Finance Centre. Her work has given her an unusual perspective on Czechia: that of someone from elsewhere in the region who has spent years dealing with Czech businesses, financial institutions and government.
A healthy dose of scepticism
So what does she make of the Czechs? She sees similarities with Germans and Austrians, but also contrasts Czech attitudes with those in her native Baltic region. Smaller Baltic countries, she believes, have had to become relatively open to new ideas. Czechs can be harder to convince.
“I think Czechs definitely are very, very sceptical and conservative and a bit wary of anything new. And there's a healthy dose of scepticism. But I think it needs to be increasingly married with a bit more excitement and exploration of the new as well. There's definitely a lot more initial scepticism and negativity than maybe in Western Europe, where people are a bit more, ‘Oh well, we'll see what happens.’” But her experience also suggests that Czech caution should not necessarily be mistaken for permanent resistance. Once a technology or idea proves itself, she says, adoption can be remarkably rapid.
From almost nothing to rapid development
Zeilina-Cross says the sustainable-finance landscape has changed dramatically since she arrived. Initially, she recalls, there were few people to talk to about the subject, particularly in government. That subsequently changed, with the Finance Ministry developing specialist expertise in sustainable finance.
“You can see really from almost nothing to very rapid development. Of course, the big question in the room is what will happen under this new government, because the unit for sustainable finance was dismantled already this summer and a lot of the climate people have left the ministries. So then we will need to see how the situation changes in the future.” The organisational change is real, although the Finance Ministry disputes that it represents the end of the agenda. It says its former Department of Sustainability Policies was abolished as a separate unit but that sustainable-finance and related work continues elsewhere within the ministry.
The broader challenge also remains. The European Commission says Czechia has considerable potential to expand clean-tech manufacturing, while the EU's latest recommendations still point to obstacles including high dependence on fossil fuels and uncertainty for renewable-energy investors.
Reasons for optimism
Zeilina-Cross nevertheless finishes on a distinctly optimistic note. She argues that Czechia's progress in clean technologies is often greater than its public debate suggests. That fits with recent European assessments. A study cited by the European Commission ranks Czechia third globally in clean-tech exports as a share of GDP, with those exports growing considerably faster than the country's exports overall.
For Zeilina-Cross, that illustrates a recurring Czech pattern: hesitation followed by rapid adoption. “When people jump in the Czech Republic, they jump fast and they work fast and they adopt it, really embrace it, and then they outcompete some in the West. So I think that's a very interesting element there.” Political cycles may slow the process, she says, but they do not necessarily determine its long-term direction.
And there is much more to our conversation – to hear Linda Zeilina-Cross talk about sustainable finance, nuclear power and why she remains optimistic about the future, listen to the latest episode of Czechast.
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Czechast is a regular RPI podcast about Czech and Moravian culture, history, and economy.
