New centre aims to help financial investors manage climate risks

A new centre that will help businesses to make better green investment decisions is being launched today.

The new Centre for Climate Finance & Investment at Imperial College Business School will work with companies to manage the risks and financial opportunities posed by climate change.

The centre will help businesses make better financial decisions when choosing to invest in  technologies that help stabilize the climate, whilst providing a good return on investment. These areas include solar and wind energy, and energy efficient transport.

The centre will be the first of its kind to tackle green investment issues within a leading business school, building on Imperial College London’s global reputation for innovative research on climate change. Researchers will help investors identify the risks and financial opportunities posed by climate disruption and address the current lack of information on emerging industrial sectors such as clean energy, energy efficiency and climate-resilient infrastructure.

Find out how climate change is affecting businesses in this animation.

Researchers from Imperial College Business School will examine how large firms, SMEs and entrepreneurs are already responding to climate change and will recommend new approaches to solving investment issues.

The centre will support research by established experts and emerging scholars on the business models, financial instruments, and investment strategies that are taking shape in the new climate economy. It aims to contribute to the global debate on climate investment through academic research, and collaborations with businesses and policy-makers, to address the key issues.

Dr Charles Donovan, Head of the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial College Business School, said: “Every year a trillion dollars of investment in the energy sector could be wasted simply because the majority of investors don’t understand the risks or opportunities presented by climate change. However, until now there simply hasn’t been enough good information to give business leaders the ability to accurately assess the risks and returns of making a transition to a low-carbon economy.

He continued: “Climate change has already created major political and technological changes that are disrupting a number of business sectors.  Adapting intelligently to these changes is not just about the environmental agenda for companies, it’s about how they survive and thrive amidst a climate of risk. The new research centre will help businesses avoid the serious impact of climate change, whilst raising the prospects for global economic growth.”

The work of the centre will be divided into three main themes: tools for financing climate-ready infrastructure; routes to sourcing clean energy investing (new forms of investing and the barriers to business growth); and managing firms in carbon-constrained economies (financial returns on sustainable business management and the impact of carbon pricing.)

The new centre follows the launch of a new MSc in Climate Change, Management and Finance, which started in September 2016. The one year’s Master's degree was launched by Imperial College Business School in partnership with the Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment, which is Imperial's hub for climate change-related activities. The course aims to equip graduates with the skills needed to tackle the business challenges caused by climate change.

Professor Martin Siegert, Co-Director of the Grantham Institute welcomed the new research centre. “We are delighted that this new centre will be driving forward much-needed academic research in climate finance and investment. We look forward to supporting the centre's development and activities, helping to build up networks beyond academia, to maximise the impact this work can have in the business and policy community.”

Dr Charles Donovan explains more about the work of the new Centre for Climate Finance & Investment in this Youtube video.

Further information about the centre, including Dr Donovan's video interview and a separate podcast interview are available on this website link.

At the UN Climate change conference (COP22) in Marrakech, Imperial College London is teaming up with the Institution of Chemical Engineers and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to discuss the financial mechanisms needed to encourage investment in low-carbon technologies and storage to stimulate a step change in deployment of the more mature technologies.

The event, "Investing in the planet: Green banks and other financial tools to scale up mitigation technologies" will take place at the COP22 Conference centre on 14 November 2016, and is open to all official conference delegates. It will also be live streamed on Youtube.

See the press release of this article