COMM 486A - Climate Finance
This course covers a range of topics in the important and rapidly growing area of Climate Finance, centered on the confluence of finance and the mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate effects. Implications will be drawn for all major segments of the global financial market. Topics covered include:
- Climate considerations in investment portfolios, including “green tilts.”
- Climate risk and global equity (stock) returns, including carbon-premiums/discounts.
- Green bonds, investment yields, and the “greenium” premium.
- Real asset prices, climate effects and household finance.
- Climate risk, insurance, and financial risk management of climate effects.
- Carbon trading, pricing, and derivative financial securities.
- Climate risk and financial institutions including banks, capital requirements and regulation.
- Financing climate innovation, venture capital, and investor preferences.
Learning objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Explain important issues, concepts and methods in climate finance, including those related to corporate finance, investments, risk management and financial institutions.
- Identify sources and analyze data on climate-related financial assets.
- Transform research-driven insights on climate finance published in leading finance journals into a practical toolkit for analyzing problems on both the buy-side and sell-side of financial market institutions.
- Apply core finance principles to the valuation, returns analysis, and risks analysis of climate-affected and climate-related real and financial assets.
Course credits:
3