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About This Certificate

The Climate Risk, Valuation, and Investing Certificate uses application-based activities and case studies from around the world to help you learn to apply climate-related investment principles to real-world scenarios. Learn how to integrate climate principles into valuations and portfolio building, conduct scenario analysis, and communicate your insights effectively with stakeholders.

Self-paced learning

This is the self-paced version of the certificate: it allows you to study independently at your own pace throughout the five courses, with no set deadlines. It offers maximum flexibility to fit your schedule. This format empowers you to take control of your learning and complete the certificate at a pace that suits you. While you study alone, you have access to an online forum to ask questions and share ideas. Click here for the cohort version of the certificate.

Hong Kong SAR Government Funding Scheme

The CFA Institute Climate Risk, Valuation, and Investing Certificate is one of the eligible programs under the Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme (Program Identification Code: GTP-080240). Upon successful completion of the certificate, eligible applicants can apply for a subsidy of up to 80% of the exam registration fees, where full-time students can claim up to 100% reimbursement. Learn More

Discover the benefits of earning a certificate in climate investing Climate Risk, Valuation, and Investing Certificate

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Courses and Final Assessment

The courses and final assessment are to be completed in the order that they appear. Courses must be completed successfully to sit for the final assessment. Course descriptions are provided below. You can view the learning objectives (PDF) for more detailed descriptions.

This course builds your understanding of climate science, the associated risks and opportunities for corporations and investors, and the regulatory responses. By the end of the course, you will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to understand the evolving landscape of climate change, its impacts and government responses.

Climate change considerations are often framed as either physical risks or transition risks. Physical risks include damage to or destruction of assets by severe weather and can often be insured against or diversified. Transition risks are losses related to the transition to a lower carbon economy, which may result from regulations or shifting consumer demand.

The focus of this course is to help you understand how companies make their transition plans and the frameworks and standards used in transition planning. This course explores how companies finance new projects and invest new business models.

This course provides you with an understanding of the nature of material climate-related risks and opportunities and their impact on corporate performance and valuation. It explores climate data, metrics and tools, including stress testing and climate scenarios. The course then focuses on the application of these tools in analyzing two asset classes: equity and fixed income.

This course builds your understanding of the strengths and limitations of integrating climate risks and opportunities in the investment process. It covers four key asset classes: private equity, private debt, infrastructure and real estate. You will gain knowledge of climate-related tools and metrics for asset valuation and assess the strengths and limitations of managing each asset class in the context of climate change.

This course is designed to help you deepen your understanding of the impacts of climate change on portfolio management, risk management, and engagement and stewardship. You will explore the integration of climate-related factors into portfolio construction and risk management and develop strategies for engaging with companies on climate issues. Through a combination of theoretical concepts and real-world case studies, you will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the evolving landscape of climate change and sustainable investing in portfolio management.

Upon successfully completing the requirements for Courses 1 - 5, you will be eligible to complete the final assessment. The final assessment is an online, unproctored assessment consisting of 60 multiple-choice questions. You will need to achieve a score of 42/60 to pass the final assessment. You will have two attempts to do this. Once you have passed the final assessment, you will earn the Climate Risk, Valuation, and Investing Certificate.

Prerequisites

A foundational knowledge and skills in financial statement analysis, valuation and portfolio construction is strongly recommended.

What You’ll Learn

On completing the certificate, you will have developed the following skills and competencies and will be able to demonstrate that you can:

  • Communicate and explain climate science concepts to clients, helping them to understand climate risk adaptation and mitigation.
  • Analyze a company's transition plan, its financial position as demonstrated by its balance sheet, how these activities will be financed, and the risks and opportunities to the company and its investors.
  • Analyze a company's climate disclosure and risks, integrate climate risks and considerations into a financial model, and adjust projections and discount rates to revise a valuation.
  • Analyze the financial projections of an investment project (private equity, venture capital, real estate, or infrastructure), including a range of scenarios, and adjust it by integrating climate factors.
  • Analyze and adjust a portfolio so it is aligned with a net-zero pathway; assess portfolio construction implications of overweighting vs underweighting certain stocks, biases or tilts towards developed markets versus emerging markets, and large versus small/mid cap issuers.
  • Analyze an environmental resolution put forward by a company and provide a recommendation for conducting an engagement activity.

Topics Covered

  • Climate Science and Climate Risk measurements
  • Climate regulations and policy
  • Carbon Pricing
  • Climate change related Investment risks and opportunities
  • Investment analysis and valuation for public companies: listed equity and fixed income
  • Investment analysis and valuation for Private companies: Private Equity and Private Debt
  • Portfolio Construction and Risk Management
  • Climate Engagement and Stewardship
  • Climate Disclosure and Reporting