Course Description

Managing climate-related risks and supporting the transition to a low-carbon world are our most significant global challenges. In order to tackle this collective challenge, finance professionals globally need to develop their knowledge of green and sustainable Finance. This global, benchmark training will help individuals to develop their understanding of, and apply, green and sustainable finance principles and practice in their roles and within their institutions.

Objectives

Develop the learner's knowledge, understanding and skills relating to green and sustainable finance;

Provide an overview of, and introduction to, the underpinning science, principles and practice of the field;

Increase the learner’s knowledge and understanding of the range of green and sustainable products and services in the banking, investment and insurance sectors;

Increase awareness of the role of the finance sector and finance professionals in supporting the transition to a low-carbon world.

Who should attend?

The Training is aimed at financial services professionals globally who wish to develop and demonstrate their knowledge and expertise of green and sustainable finance. Broad financial services sector coverage, including bankers, insurers, investment managers, central bankers and regulators, risk managers, analysts and consultants.

Course Overview

An Introduction to Green and Sustainable Finance, and Finance in Our Changing World

Definitions of green and sustainable finance

Design of a sustainable financial system

Green and sustainable industry sectors, products, and services

Challenges and opportunities for green and sustainable finance

The UN Sustainable Development Goals

Indicators of the global development of the green and sustainable finance sector

Characteristics of approaches to green and sustainable finance

The climate system and anthropogenic climate change

Impacts of climate change on society

Climate science underpinning the need for green finance

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Climate change and the finance sector

The nature of ‘stranded assets’ and the ‘carbon bubble’, and the challenges these present

Green, sustainable, and circular economies

The role of the finance sector and finance professional in supporting the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy

Building a Sustainable Financial System, and Monitoring Flows of Finance and Environmental Performance

‘Light green’ and ‘deep green’ strategies

Identifying and avoiding ‘greenwashing’

The primary actors involved in building a sustainable financial system

Key policy and regulatory frameworks supporting green and sustainable finance

The role of intergovernmental bodies, governments, and other organisations in supporting green and sustainable finance

Key industry initiatives on green and sustainable finance

Embedding sustainability in organizational strategies and the importance of organisational culture in driving sustainability

The importance and challenges of monitoring, measuring, and reporting the flow of investment to support the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon world

Different methods in which green and sustainable investment impacts and outcomes may be monitored and verified

The importance of independent, external review in green and sustainable finance

The use of advanced data analysis in the development of green and sustainable finance

Risk Management, and Retail, Commercial and Corporate Banking

The nature and importance of key climate-related and environmental risks

Different types of climate-related risk (physical, transition and liability) and their impact on the finance sector

Stranded asset risk, and its potential impact on financial institutions and financial stability

Approaches to identifying, disclosing, managing, and pricing climate-related risks, and the use of scenario analysis

The role of banking in the financial system

UN Principles for Responsible Banking

Retail banking products and services

Wholesale and investment banking products and services

Case studies of innovative green and sustainable banking products

Green Loan Principles

Examples and case studies of innovative green and sustainable banking products and service

Green Bonds and Asset-Backed Securities: Central and Development Banks, Equity Markets and Investment Funds, and Insurance

Debt capital markets

Green bonds, Green Bond Principles, Green Bond Indices

Green sukuk and asset-backed securities

The role of central and development banks

Funding the transition to a low-carbon world – a social purpose for banking and finance

The role of equity markets in the financial system

Equity products, including private equity, venture capital, angel investing and Yieldcos.

Funds and collective investment schemes

UN Principles for Responsible Investment

Portfolio decarbonisation as a holistic approach to green and sustainable finance

Personal insurance, including green home insurance and green motor insurance

Commercial and corporate insurance, including commercial property, renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon credit insurance

Climate risk insurance, including sovereign catastrophe risk pooling and index insurance

UN Principles for Sustainable Insurance

Green and Sustainable FinTech, and Mainstreaming Green and Sustainable Finance

What is FinTech?

Opportunities FinTech might offer for green and sustainable finance

Applying FinTech tools and techniques

Corporate banking and capital markets

Policy initiatives to support FinTech in green and sustainable finance

Costs and challenges of FinTech

Funding the transition to a low-carbon world – a social purpose for banking and finance

Embedding green finance principles and practice in organizations and supply chains

Mainstreaming green finance and assessing progress towards the mainstream

Examples of mainstreaming from around the world

Role of the Green and Sustainable Finance Professional

Reflecting on professional practice and personal development planning

Learning Goals

On completion of this module, the learner will be able to:

explain what is meant by ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ finance, the key factors that underpin the science of climate change, and the ways in which the finance sector can support the transition to a sustainable, low- carbon economy

explain the role of a range of key players and policy and regulatory frameworks in building and supporting a sustainable financial system, and the importance of monitoring, measuring and reporting the flow of investment to support the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon world

examine the nature and importance of key climate- related and environmental risks, the role of financial services in the financial system, and how different types of financial services activity, products and services can improve the quality and functioning of the natural environment and natural systems

Describe the role of retail, commercial, and wholesale banking, and the role of central and development banks, in supporting the development of green and sustainable finance and the transition to a low-carbon economy

Explain the role of financial technology in supporting the growth of green and sustainable finance, and the steps that regulators, policymakers, institutions, organizations and Green and Sustainable Finance Professionals can take to support the mainstreaming of green and sustainable finance