Finance Initiative UNEP FI e-Learning Course on Climate Change ...

<strong>Finance</strong> <strong>Initiative</strong> 

Innovative financing for sustainability 

<strong>UNEP</strong> <strong>FI</strong> e-<strong>Learning</strong> <strong>Course</strong> on Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities for the <strong>Finance</strong> Sector 

<strong>Course</strong> Information 

2008 Syllabus 

Topics and Activities to be Covered on a Weekly Basis 

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<strong>UNEP</strong>-<strong>FI</strong> e-<strong>Learning</strong> <strong>Course</strong> on 

Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities for the <strong>Finance</strong> Sector 

WEEK 1 (2-9 June 2008): Module 1 

Module 1: An Introduction to Climate Change 

Lesson 1: An Introduction to Climate Change: The Science behind the Phenomenon 

• Why scientists believe the Earth's weather system is changing 

• How these changes affect natural systems and human society 

• Why this is relevant for business as a result of changes in the natural environment, in regulation, 

and in customer behaviour. 

• Further reading/Related links. 

Lesson 2: Climate Change and Financial Services: Why does it matter? 

• Thorough explanation of how Climate Change impacts Financial Services, including a break 

down by sector, i.e. Banking, Insurance, and Asset Management. 

• The key risks, including policy and legal impacts. 

• Applicability and implications of various climate change scenarios to financial institutions. 

• Further reading/Related links. 

Lesson 3: Policy and Regulation 

• Introduction to the main inter-governmental treaty at present: the UN Framework Convention on 

Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol; 

• A brief history of this process, to provide context for the current international talks on the next 

round of agreements 'post-2012' and the 'Bali Roadmap'; 

• The key elements of the treaties, highlighting the significant issues for financial services [cross 

reference to lessons on CDM/JI] 

• How the process works, makes decisions, and how governments and 'observers' (including 

business) interact; 

• Brief introduction to the 'post-2012' debate [cross reference to lesson11] 

• Other international processes, such as the Asia Pacific Partnership and G8 and the 'Gleneagles 

Dialogue', briefly setting in context. 

• Further reading/ Related links. 

<strong>Finance</strong> <strong>Initiative</strong> Unit, Economics and Trade Branch, Division of Technology, Industry and Economics 

15 Chemin des Anemones, 1219 Chatelaine, Geneva, Switzerland 

Tel: (+41 22) 917 8178 Fax: (+41 22) 796 9240 Email: fi@unep.ch 

www.unepfi.org

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Note: 

<strong>Course</strong> Reading Materials: - course lessons to be made available each week within the '<strong>Course</strong> Material' 

panel. (Compulsory) 

Lesson Review: - available at the end of each lesson. 

Quiz:- take Module 1 quiz (available under '<strong>Course</strong> Material' panel). (Compulsory) 

Additional Resources: 

Glossary of Terms - included for some lessons. 

Print-friendly versions of Lessons - available in pdf format (for each lesson) and downloadable from the 

"<strong>Course</strong> Material" panel. 

External Links - to external web resources available from the "External Links" panel. 

Discussion Board: - discussion topic(s) to be posted at the beginning of each week. 

Email Exchanges: - participants may send email to <strong>Course</strong> Moderators, the e-<strong>Learning</strong> Support Team or 

fellow participants using the 'Communication' panel. 

WEEK 2 (June 9-16, 2008): Module 2 

Module 2: Climate Change and the Energy Economy 

Lesson 4: Climate Change and its Implications for Energy and Energy Financing 

• The forces that drive energy demand 

• Voluntary and mandatory measures to combat climate change including energy policy 

frameworks that support the uptake of renewable and alternative energy sources 

• The effects of energy policy frameworks on how energy is sourced and review project finance 

for clean energy technologies 

• Energy Portfolio Management. 

• Further reading/ Related links. 

Lesson 5: Climate Change and Financing Strategies: An Overview 

• Influence of climate change on economies and capital markets. 

• Climate change related exposure of different sectors and how this can impact from a 'whole of 

portfolio' approach. 

• Information sources, for example the Carbon Disclosure Project, and risk assessment tools. 

• Strategies to consider sector and company specific risks in investment and other financing 

decision-making. 

• How to use this information to actually change decisions within a Financial Institution. 

Lesson 6: Climatic Risks to Projects. 

• Relevance of climatic hazards to environmental impact assessments. 

• Importance of climate for operation as well as construction. 

• Liability for emissions. 

Lesson 7: The "Clean Energy Wave": Opportunities & Risks in Alternative Energy 

• What are the recent investment trends in clean energy? 

• Sources of clean energy investment 

• Technology Review (Solar, Wind, Biofuels, etc) 

• What is Cleantech? 

• How do we finance Clean Energy Innovation? 

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• Further reading / related links. 

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WEEK 3 (June 16-23, 2008): Module 3 

Module 3: Carbon <strong>Finance</strong> 

Lesson 8: An Introduction to the Flexible Mechanisms: Emissions trading 

• What are flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol? 

• How does the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) work? 

• How did the emissions market evolve? 

• What are the risks and opportunities for companies in the EU ETS? 

• How can financial institutions help mitigate risks related to emissions trading? 

• How do financial institutions utilize the opportunities of emissions trading? 

Lesson 9: Introduction to the project-based mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol 

• How do the project-based mechanisms CDM and JI work and what are their objectives? 

• What are the requirements for participation? 

• What are the central requirements for project development (baseline calculation and 

additionality)? 

• What are the steps of the CDM project cycle? 

• Who is involved in a CDM/JI project? 

• What is the marketing potential of emission reduction credits? 

• What are the main challenges in CDM/JI project implementation? 

Lesson 10: CDM: Risks and opportunities for financial service providers 

• What are the specific characteristics of CDM projects compared to 'common' projects? 

• What are the particular risks of CDM projects? 

• What are the options to mitigate CDM risks? 

• What instruments can financial institutions employ to address CDM risks? 

Lesson 11: What's next? 

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• To consider how climate change policy might evolve for the post-2012 era. 

• To examine how financial institutions (<strong>FI</strong>'s) are gearing up to deal with climate change. 

• To suggest how <strong>FI</strong>'s might address the issue of managing climate change risk. 

• To discuss briefly how financial instruments might be used to deal with other environmental 

issues apart from climate change. 

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Wrap-Up (June 23-27, 2008) 

(a) Ensure that you have completed the three quizzes (available under the <strong>Course</strong> Material panel). 

(b) Complete and submit the Online Survey (course evaluation questionnaire). 

(c) Post your farewell message on the discussion board. 

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