| Unit name | Green and Sustainable Finance |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ACFIM0008 |
| Credit points | 15 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Nguyen |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
Financial Management (EFIMM0115) OR OR OR |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Accounting and Finance - Business School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Climate change is the defining political and economic problem of this century. Governments, investors, business, and private individuals take action to decarbonize the economy.
This unit will enable students to comprehend how to align investment strategies with sustainability objectives, manage environmental risks, incentivize and promote green investments, design sustainable financing mechanisms and instruments, and introduce how regulatory frameworks in financial markets aid the transition to an inclusive net-zero economy.
Graduates who possess knowledge in these areas will be sought after by financial institutions, regulatory authorities, consulting companies and auditing companies that prioritise sustainability and green practices. This area also enables research-minded students to pursue PhD studies in this area.
The unit will allow students to acquire functional competencies related to green and sustainable finance and climate change. As a result, the unit complements existing core units to deepen students’ comprehension and ability to evaluate how climate change, decarbonization strategies, and green taxonomies cut across major functions in the financial sector and impact on firms, business models, investments, and risk management.
An overview of content
This unit first lays the foundations to understand the fundamentals of green and sustainable finance. It then continues to explore key dimensions of how climate change can be mitigated using green finance, and discusses the role of key players in finance for aiding the transition to net-zero.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
Students will have a greater awareness of the key role the financial system plays for decarbonizing the economy and become subject-matter experts in green finance. They will be able to articulate the effects of climate risks, how green finance helps address and mitigate such risks, and engage actively in debates about how to achieve a sustainable corporate world to benefit society.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the unit, students will be able to
Teaching includes a combination of lectures and smaller group workshops. Weekly 2-hour lectures will take place in a traditional lecture setting, all efforts will be made to ensure lectures are as engaging and interactive as possible with the active use of student questioning, and student participation via exercises and case studies. Every other week 1-hour interactive workshops will take place in which students will actively participate in the discussion of topics and real-life examples related to the themes discussed during lectures.
Formative Assessment:
The ongoing formative assessment of students’ comprehension of the subject will take place during small group tutorials. Students will be given the opportunity to present ideas based on their reading of news articles about green finance and group exercises in tutorials.
Summative Assessment:
Student will be required to form groups of 3-4 students at the beginning of term. Each group is required to demonstrate their ability to analyse an empirical question based on real world data in the context of green and sustainable finance.
All students will receive the same mark. The assignment theme will be based on one of the themes covered in the unit. Students will be assessed upon their ability to demonstrate their ability to critically reflect on the appropriate academic literature, apply appropriate analytical tools, analyse empirical results, and evaluate and appraise them in the context of the material covered in lectures (ILO3, ILO4).
The individual assignment requires students to independently make reasonable judgments on a topic of green and sustainable finance by critically reflecting on appropriate academic literature, analysing data, and critically analyse findings. Students will choose one from a selected set of topics, and use a relevant and appropriate dataset provided to create an independent report on green and sustainable finance.
Students will be assessed on:
When assessment does not go to plan
Any reassessment required for the individual pieces of coursework, will be a like for like assessment.
Any reassessment required for the group presentation, will take the form of an individual assignment (1,500 words).
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. ACFIM0008).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
