Syllabus Bank
Investors wield considerable power in shaping how our society operates. They can support and drive the transformational changes required today and, in the years to come, to address the climate and biodiversity crises. Sustainable finance, which involves raising and managing capital to support sustainable development, including the conservation of land, water, and resources, is of growing importance and could contribute to this endeavour.
The climate crisis and biodiversity loss endanger our societies and economies. In 2019, the Canadian Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance released its report, Mobilizing Finance for Sustainable Growth, on behalf of the Ministers of Environment and Climate Change (ECCC) and Finance. The report explains that finance “has a critical role in supporting the real economy through the transition.
The emerging field of “sustainable finance” is focused squarely on channelling financial sector expertise, ingenuity and influence towards the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change. (p.5) In Canada (and globally), innovative financial instruments offer exciting potential to help build thriving and healthy ecosystems and communities.
The objectives of the course are to enable students to:
- Explore how actors throughout the investment chain can be barriers or enablers of responsible business behaviours.
- Analyze the various strategies for integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities across different industries and asset classes to address the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
- Discuss what individuals (e.g., students, shareholders, citizens, managers, and politicians), organizations, and society can do to finance a sustainable real economy.
- Interpret how financial instruments and innovations can support the transition of our economies toward net zero in ways conducive to social justice.
- Communicate sustainable finance insights effectively to a public audience through collaborative audio storytelling.
- Demonstrate critical thinking and creative application of course concepts through the development of a podcast series designed to inform and influence practice.