Courses

Climate Change: Financial Risks and Opportunities

Do you want to know more about how a warming planet is changing the landscape for investing?  Geared towards professionals working in financial markets, this course provides a solid introduction to the financial risks and opportunities arising from man-made climate change.

Our aim is to help you answer a simple question: does climate risk matter to investors? We do this by defining the financial risks related to climate change and follow with the investment policies and risk management strategies that are taking shape. This programme is also a starting point for risk and strategy managers anticipating the impacts from the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures asking firms to disclose the climate risks they face. In short, the programme is a primer on how global capital markets are responding to the world’s greatest environmental risk.

Participants will be exposed to the latest thinking from senior leaders in financial services and multinational firms. The programme is led by business school faculty and the Centre for Climate Finance & Investment at Imperial College London, and designed by investment practitioners for finance professionals and those aspiring to enter the field.

What you'll learn 

• How to define climate risks into distinct categories

• The concepts of physical risks (e.g. stranded assets) and transition risks (e.g. renewable energy technology developments)

• Emerging trends in the transition towards climate-resilient investing

• Ways of thinking about potential winners and losers in a lower carbon economy

• Sources of financing emerging within the private sector for new investments

Practicalities 

This is a free online executive education programme. The programme is self-paced over approximately 20 hours.

The programme includes readings, video lectures from Imperial academics, and practitioner interviews, and is complemented with topical references and interactive participation exercises.

This programme is produced by Imperial College Business School in partnership with EIT Climate KIC and hosted on the EdX platform. Imperial College London is in the top 10 of the world’s universities, a leader in climate change innovation, and is situated at the heart of the world’s financial capital.