Environmental Finance and Investments


Book Description

The current economic and environmental situation poses fundamental questions that this book aims to answer: Under which conditions could a market-based approach contribute to a decrease in emissions? How are abatement and investment strategies generated or promoted under permit regimes like the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS)? In the context of the EU ETS, what is the trade-off between production, technological changes and pollution? This book is intended to provide students and practitioners the knowledge and theoretical tools they need in order to answer these and other more general questions in the context of so-called environmental finance theory, a new field of research that investigates the economic, financial and managerial impacts of market-based environmental policies.




OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook 2021


Book Description

This edition of the OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook reviews developments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for government borrowing needs, funding conditions and funding strategies in the OECD area.




Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing


Book Description

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing: A Balanced Analysis of the Theory and Practice of a Sustainable Portfolio presents a balanced, thorough analysis of ESG factors as they are incorporated into the investment process. An estimated 25% of all new investments are in ESG funds, with a global total of $23 trillion and the U.S. accounting for almost $9 trillion. Many advocate the sustainability goals promoted by ESG, while others prefer to maximize returns and spend their earnings on social causes. The core problem facing those who want to promote sustainability goals is to define sustainability investing and measure its returns. This book examines theories and their practical implications, illuminating issues that other books leave in the shadows. - Provides a dispassionate examination of ESG investing - Presents the historical arguments for maximizing returns and competing theories to support an ESG approach - Reviews case studies of empirical evidence about relative returns of both traditional and ESG investment approaches




Financial Evaluation of Environmental Investments


Book Description

Traditional ways of analyzing investments, like net present value or payback calculations, do not deal adequately with environmental issues. Future liabilities and the long time-scale over which a product or process has an impact on the environment are not generally included, and risk is not incorporated properly. This text takes a holistic view of decision-making. The authors advance a methodology which puts the expected monetary values of different investment and risk scenarios into a mathematical model. Features of the model are a wider set of cost-benefits, a disciplined approach to risk and uncertainty, a consideration of the environmental aspects of every facet of an investment, quantification of less tangible things like corporate image and future liabilities, and a strict treatment of items like pollution monitoring that have been passed off as overheads. Case studies and examples of analysis to help you put it all into practice are included.




ESG Investment


Book Description

Investors are increasingly integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into their investment decisions. Currently, more than half of managed assets in Europe are linked to ESG factors, while in Japan, ESG investment has grown dramatically in recent years. In principle, ESG investment can help to bridge the gap between profit-driven investment and economic and social sustainability in Asia and the Pacific. However, a number of challenges, such as unclear and varied sustainable investment criteria, untested impacts on corporate value and social issues, and the lack of quality data cloud the potential for increasing ESG investment. This book aims to contribute to developing a framework for future analysis and monitoring to ensure the growth of ESG investment.




Solutions to Environmental Problems Involving Nanotechnology and Enzyme Technology


Book Description

Nanotechnology and Enzyme Technology Combined to Address Environmental Problems discusses how nanotechnology and enzyme technology work independently and together to help researchers and environmental professionals learn about this revolutionary and cross-disciplinary field. Nanotechnology has provided a range of nanomaterials, some of which are helpful in the protection of the environment and climate. They can be used to improve durability against mechanical stress, help in cleaning, enhance energy efficiency as insulation, save energy consumption during transportation due to catalytic properties, and more. This book highlights this technology as it continues to provide solutions for various environmental problems. - Covers air and water pollution remediation in the developing field of combining nanotechnology with enzyme technology - Reviews the sustainability potentials of combining nanotechnology and enzyme technology, including energy production - Applies current research and utilization to a variety of environmental issues, including pollution and energy production




Environmental Finance


Book Description

An engaging and comprehensive look at the intersection of financial innovation and the environment This unique book provides readers with a comprehensive look at the new markets being created to help companies manage environmental risks, including weather derivatives, catastrophe bonds, and emission trading permits. Filled with real-world case studies and timely advice, Environmental Finance contains corporate strategies that financial service professionals as well as their clients must understand in order to proactively improve a company's environmental performance.







Economic Analysis of Investment Operations


Book Description

This books presents general principles and methodologies of quantitative risk analysis; provides theory and practice of how to evaluate health, transport and education projects and describes how to assess the environmental impact of projects. It looks at how the tools of cost benefit analysis can be applied from the point of view of the private sector, public sector, bankers, and the country as a whole. It encourages analysts to answer a number of key questions that are likely to increase success rather than simply describing techniques. This book as aimed at all concerned with resource allocation and is presented in an accessible fashion. It is required reading at World bank Institute courses.




ESG and Responsible Institutional Investing Around the World: A Critical Review


Book Description

This survey examines the vibrant academic literature on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. While there is no consensus on the exact list of ESG issues, responsible investors increasingly assess stocks in their portfolios based on nonfinancial data on environmental impact (e.g., carbon emissions), social impact (e.g., employee satisfaction), and governance attributes (e.g., board structure). The objective is to reduce exposure to investments that pose greater ESG risks or to influence companies to become more sustainable. One active area of research at present involves assessing portfolio risk exposure to climate change. This literature review focuses on institutional investors, which have grown in importance such that they have now become the largest holders of shares in public companies globally. Historically, institutional investors tended to concentrate their ESG efforts mostly on corporate governance (the “G” in ESG). These efforts included seeking to eliminate provisions that restrict shareholder rights and enhance managerial power, such as staggered boards, supermajority rules, golden parachutes, and poison pills. Highlights from this section: · There is no consensus on the exact list of ESG issues and their materiality. · The ESG issue that gets the most attention from institutional investors is climate change, in particular their portfolio companies’ exposure to carbon risk and “stranded assets.” · Investors should be positioning themselves for increased regulation, with the regulatory agenda being more ambitious in the European Union than in the United States. Readers might come away from this survey skeptical about the potential for ESG investing to affect positive change. I prefer to characterize the current state of the literature as having a “healthy dose of skepticism,” with much more remaining to be explored. Here, I hope the reader comes away with a call to action. For the industry practitioner, I believe that the investment industry should strive to achieve positive societal goals. CFA Institute provides an exemplary case in its Future of Finance series (www.cfainstitute.org/research/future-finance). For the academic community, I suggest we ramp up research aimed at tackling some of the open questions around the pressing societal goals of ESG investing. I am optimistic that practitioners and academics will identify meaningful ways to better harness the power of global financial markets for addressing the pressing ESG issues facing our society.