Course description

The urgent transition towards a low-carbon economy will profoundly change our economy. Households, companies and financial intermediaries have to be ready in order to avoid the downside risks and seize the opportunities created by climate change. The Finance of Climate Change MOOC will explain (i) how climate change and the policies aimed to mitigate it will impact the different businesses and (ii) the means and tools at the disposal of companies, banks and investors to be part of this transition.

• What is the shadow price of carbon?
• What makes a bond green? How can investors steer the decarbonization of a company?
• How can we make sure that a company is making real efforts to make its business model climate-resilient and not just greenwashing?

These are some of the questions that will be addressed in this MOOC.

This MOOC covers the financial risks and opportunities of climate change and how companies can finance their green transition, for example by issuing green securities. Learners will also learn how financial intermediaries address climate change risks and why central banks are concerned about climate change.

This MOOC is for those who wish to understand the finance of climate. It is not necessary to have specialized prior knowledge, apart from basic familiarity with accounting and financial concepts such as discounted cash flows.

We do suggest, however, taking the first and second MOOC of this specialization before starting this one in order to gain a simple but solid understanding of the science and economics aspects of climatic changes.

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Faculty

Gianfranco Gianfrate

Professor of Finance, EDHEC Business School

PhD Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

Learning objectives

• Understand how climate change risk exposure affects corporate decisions and value
• Map the financial risks and opportunities of climate change
• Understand the instruments, investment funds and solutions to finance clean technologies and clean energy
• Assess how climate change impact financial intermediaries and systemic risks