Postgraduate Course: Low Carbon and Green Investment (CMSE11362)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 15 |
ECTS Credits | 7.5 |
| Summary | High levels of investment are expected in order to transition to a low carbon future, for example, the Paris Agreement reiterates the commitment for developing countries to provide at least $100 billion/yr in climate finance, while the IEA estimates cumulative investment of $35.9 trillion in low carbon energy between 2015 - 2030. A variety of different mechanisms, including both public and private sector finance, will be required for different technologies, sectors and countries. This course aims to provide students with an understanding of the nature of these new financial flows and the implications and opportunities for business. In addition, many of the skills related to low carbon investment are equally applicable to other areas of green finance, and this broader application is explored in the course. |
| Course description |
The course aims to provide students with an understanding of trajectories towards a low-carbon economy and what this implies in terms of investment requirements and opportunities at different points in time, in different countries and sectors. Students should come away from the course with an understanding of the key financial flows and strategies that are unlikely to be mediated by carbon markets alone. Students should be able to apply their understanding of investment appraisal to investment decisions made by various types of investors such as individuals, private equity funds, pension funds, insurance firms or green mutual funds. Students are expected to learn how these investors operate and what attracts them to invest in low carbon projects. Broader aspects of green or environmental finance, beyond carbon finance, will also be discussed.
Syllabus
1. Conceptualising climate change mitigation as an investment issue
2. Who will finance the low carbon transition and what drives investment?
3. How to write an investment prospectus/proposal
4. Climate finance and climate funds
5. Green investment banks
6. Climate insurance and risk analysis
7. Low carbon investment portfolio management
8. Green bonds
9. Micro and community finance
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
150
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
117 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Group presentations and report to class - 30%
Individual essay of up to 3,000 words - 70% |
| Feedback |
Students will gain formative feedback on their understanding of the course material questions, answers and discussions during the lectures and workshops.
Summative feedback on assessments will be made available a maximum of 15 working days after the assessment completion.
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Describe and critically evaluate the challenges and opportunities for low-carbon/green investment.
- Understand and critically discuss the different types of institutional and individual investors: their business models, institutional framework, incentive structures and the role of low carbon/green investment opportunities on their dashboards.
- Understand and apply best practice for developing an investment proposal.
- Understand and critically evaluate different innovative financial instruments for supporting low carbon/green investments.
- Critically evaluate an individual investment proposition from different perspectives, with a focus on commercial low carbon/green investment but also acknowledging wider social cost-benefit.
|
Reading List
| A full weekly reading list is posted on Learn via an online Resource List. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and Understanding
After completing this course, students should have:
* An in-depth understanding of the scale and timing of investment required for a low carbon transition
* Detailed knowledge and understanding of the key players, stages of investment, and types of finance associated with low carbon investment
* Detailed understanding of the role of policy in low carbon investment decisions
Practice: Applied Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
* Calculate the internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV), and profitability index for an investment project
* Write and present an investment proposal
* Evaluate the risks and opportunities associated with low-carbon/green investments
Cognitive Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
* Critically appraise investment proposals from a range of perspectives
* Make informed judgements based on the analysis of risks and returns
* Understand, speak and write in the language of low-carbon/green investment
Communication, ICT, and Numeracy Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
* Calculate and apply standard investment appraisal metrics, e.g. IRR, NPV and PI
* Cooperate with others from different professional, educational and cultural backgrounds to produce group analysis and present the results of group work. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Matthew Brander
Tel: (0131 6)51 5547
Email: Matthew.Brander@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Flavia Di Gennaro
Tel: (0131 6)50 7112
Email: Flavia.DiGennaro@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage