F1ES 4525 - Urban Climate Finance : Notions and practice of local climate investments

Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges of our time. While its consequences will put lives, livelihoods, and economic growth at risk, there is more to the issue than meets the eye. Cities have a key role in the climate emergency as 70% of green gas emissions come from cities globally and they are already experiencing the effects of climate change – 90% of cities are at risk of flooding from sea-level rise and storms due to their coastal location. The transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy is one of the biggest challenges that mankind needs to confront, and cities must be at the forefront of that challenge.

This course will focus on (1) providing an overall view of climate finance and urban climate basic notions; (2) doing a deep dive into municipal finance and public and private financial instruments available; (3) presenting case studies on how to fund climate projects at the city level.

Additional requested information: (eg mainly theoretical or mainly practical or a mixture of the two):

The course combines theory with practical application. Since both instructors come from professional, non-academic backgrounds, the course is primarily tailored to a professional focus.

None

Pedagogical format

12 x 2 hours sessions

Course requirements - grading and assessment.

The total grade will be divided into three components:

• 40%: Presentation
• 10%: Participation (engagement and contribution to discussions)
• 50%: Final paper

Final Paper: Students will select a city and develop a case study addressing the following question: What financial instruments are available for this city to access urban climate finance? They will analyze a new urban climate infrastructure project aimed at enhancing the city's climate resilience and outline a financing strategy, including partners, instruments, and other relevant elements, for its implementation.

Course workload

Up to 3-hours per class