To join us in FECS

FECS is available to scholars across the world.  There are three simple steps to join.  First, a faculty member agrees to be the local faculty coordinator.   See the FECS Coordinator pages for more information and to apply as a faculty coordinator, please FILL OUT THIS FORM.   Second, local faculty coordinators collect the names and email details of participants and submit them to FECS.  Third, before our first class on 4 Feb 2025, FECS will send the participants information on joining, including details on the course Dropbox, Zoom links, and Slack channel.

Dates and Content

FECS will be taught from February 4  to April 29, 2025 on Tuesdays from 11:00-13:00 EST/EDT.  Note that because of differing national practices of adoption of daylight savings times (e.g., US-Mar 9; UK/Euro-Mar 30), check below for weeks where your session may be at a locally different time.

• Feb 4 – Introduction to climate science
• Feb 11 – Climate, Sustainability, Economic and Finance Theory 1
• Feb 18 – Climate, Sustainability, Economic and Finance Theory 2
• Feb 25  – Climate, Accounting, and Corporate Carbon Disclosures
• March 4 – Climate and Asset Pricing (Theory)
• March 11* – Climate and Asset Pricing (Empirics) (Note: Class at 11:00 EDT; for other participants check local time).
• March 18 – OFF, no class
• March 25* – Sustainable Finance: Investing in Equity (Note: Class at 11:00 EDT; for other participants check local time).
• April 1 – Sustainable Finance 2: Investing in Debt
• April 8 – Climate and Corporate Finance
• April 15 – Climate and Financial Institutions
• April 22– Climate and Household Finance
• April 29 – Wrap up and Discussion

2025 Reading List

The reading list for Spring 2025 will be available in December 2024.  The reading list for 2024 can be found here.

Format and Timing of Core Sessions

The weekly two-hour core sessions will be held on Tuesdays in synchronous Zoom sessions. This is a global synchronous reading group, so no time is ideal; our classes are Tuesdays from 11 am-1 pm EST/EDT. (Note that because of differing national practices of adoption of daylight savings times (e.g., US-Mar 9; UK/Euro-Mar 30), check the schedule for weeks where your session may be at a locally different time.)  Each Core Session will provide an overview of the topic and discuss 4-5 research papers, but discussions may be augmented locally at your school.

HOW DO I BECOME A FACULTY COORDINATOR?

To apply to be your school’s faculty coordinator, please FILL OUT THIS FORM.

What is the role of a faculty coordinator?

While FECS provides students at over 130 schools a timely curated reading list, 24 hours of sessions by world-class academics, and additional resources, the research process needs local engagement and support.  At each participating school, we require that there be a local faculty coordinator.   At a minimum, the coordinator approves students who will join the FECS global reading group to ensure that they have the proper training to benefit from the material.  In many schools, coordinators have done much more than this, including connecting the material to other classes and seminars at their schools; convening FECS participants locally to form small groups; offering additional sessions; running short additional programs such as summer programs; offering a locally-graded version of the course by augmenting it with assignments and assessment; and organizing multi-school conferences.  We strongly encourage local coordinators to build off the global platform to create local vibrant climate finance communities. In short, the role of the faculty coordinator can be quite minimal or very expansive—depending on how you and your organization locally adapt the material for your school.

Is there any cost to my school?  Who supports this initiative?

No. The Core Session Faculty have come together to voluntarily offer this course and the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University provides administrative support for this initiative as part of its mission to broaden climate education. There is no charge to participating schools or students.

What is theory of change of FECS?

This is a voluntary effort by faculty around the globe and it is motivated by a simple collective theory of change: (1) Solving the climate crisis will demand that the financial system deploys trillions of dollars a year across the globe; (2) business schools—and finance professors—need to take a leadership role in education and research to support this historic movement of capital, but currently there are few trained academics, an exceedingly small body of literature, and a lack of courses; (3) for business schools to lead, we need to train an entire new generation of finance scholars, but to date, there are no doctoral courses in climate finance; and (4) through creating a global doctoral course, taught by respected leaders in the nascent field, and available to students, post docs, and faculty around the world, we can catalyze the development of the community of climate finance scholars and educators. Our model leverages scale, specialization, and a community effect. We scale through reaching students at multiple schools; we specialize by tapping the diverse expertise of a global teaching team; we support both global and local research communities of educators, who can go on to train many climate leaders.

How can I sign up to be a local faculty coordinator?

Please fill out the survey AT THIS LINK to request to be your school’s faculty coordinator.   You will be asked to provide the name and website of your school; your details including your web presence and contact information; how many students you anticipate will want to join the FECS reading group; what related courses your school offers; and what additional resources you intend to offer to participants in FECS.   Coordinators must be faculty members.   You may want to check with colleagues, department chairs or others to coordinate which person(s) will serve as faculty coordinators.  (In a few instances, we have had multiple faculty from one institution sign up to be faculty coordinators without knowing about each other!)

When and how do I submit my list of FECS participants so that they can gain access to the lectures and materials?

We will accept schools and faculty coordinators through November 15, 2024.   In December, 2024 we will provide information about how to submit to us the list of FECS participants at your school.  Participants should all have the necessary background to benefit from the course, i.e., doctoral training in finance, economics, or accounting.  You will submit the participants’ names and email addresses, which we use to give them access to the course Zoom, Slack, and Drop Box.  This information must be submitted to FECS no later than January 15, 2025.

How can I learn more?

We plan to hold a webinar for Faculty Coordinators in November 2024.   Once you submit your application to be a faculty coordinator, we will invite you to this session.   Finally, you can contact the Faculty Lead, Peter Tufano at ptufano@hbs.edu with specific questions.

TO JOIN FECS, CHECK TO SEE IF YOUR SCHOOL IS PARTICIPATING AND CONTACT YOUR FACULTY.

What is the purpose of FECS?

FECS offers insight into the field of climate finance aimed at Doctoral students, post-docs, researchers and faculty to build a new generation of climate finance scholars and educators.  It consists of a set of 12 two-hour sessions lead by leading academics in the field, but your school’s coordinator may offer additional sessions or offer a locally-authorized version of the course.

What are the pre-requisites?

FECS is designed to train academics who will conduct research and teach in the field of climate finance. It covers current research in the field as well as research methods. Pre-requisites for the course are doctoral-level training in economics, finance, or accounting.  Doctoral students, post-docs, and faculty who are interested in advancing research on climate finance are welcome to join.

What is covered in each Core Session?

The faculty will review 4-6 papers per core session. These are often very recent papers. After an introductory introduction to climate science and data, the sessions will cover core principles of finance and economics (2), asset pricing (2), investment management (2), climate accounting, corporate finance, household finance, financial institutions, and a wrap-up session.  You are expected to read the papers, available online, in advance.  While the sessions will include many participants, there will be opportunities to participate both on Zoom and on the course Slack channel.  There will also be occasional breakout sessions where participants from different schools can meet one another.

Does FECS cost anything to participants?

No. The Core Session Faculty have come together to voluntarily offer this course and the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University provides administrative support for this initiative as part of its mission to broaden climate education. There is no charge to participating schools or students.

What resources are available for FECS participants?

Participants will get access to the synchronous Zoom Reading Group Sessions, slides for each class, a database of climate finance papers, a database of useful research databases, time-limited recordings of prior classes, and news about climate finance conferences and opportunities. Access to this material will be through a reading group Dropbox, only available to participants approved by the local school coordinator.

Will I get course credit or a certificate of completion ?

Not from FECS.  The decision whether and how to award course credit or offer a certificate—as well as the requirements to do so—are set by each local participating school. Contact your course convener.

Is FECS available at my institution?

FECS is available for doctoral students, post-docs, and researchers at many schools. See this regularly updated list of schools and course conveners .

How can I sign up?

If you are at one of the participating schools, contact your local convener for information.

Where can I learn more?

Please visit our contact page and get in touch with your local course convener to learn more.

For the complete list of participating institutions and local course coordinators, please check back to this page which will be updated regularly.   List below as of 16 September 2024.  For contact information of local conveners, click here.

“FECS is one of the most important advancements in responsible business education. What is likely one of the most innovative and important aspects of this course is that it embodies the type of collective action needed to tackle climate change: all business schools benefit from a course to which many have contributed.”

Tima Bansal
Professor and Chair of the Board of UN PRIME (Principles for Responsible Management Education)

“With so many early career researchers eager to contribute to business and finance knowledge for climate and sustainability, yet so few doctoral programmes at scale to offer deep and specialised courses, the FECS model fills an important gap in business school education. As Vice-Chair of RRBM (Responsible Research in Business and Management), it is heartening to see this initiative to educate the next generation of researchers to tackle topics on which the world urgently needs good, evidence-based research.”

Jennifer Howard-Grenville
Cambridge Judge Business School

“The universal reaction we received from students and colleagues alike was that this course represents a global curriculum innovation to one of the most pressing global problems of our time.”

Stefan Reichelstein
Professor, University of Mannheim
and Stanford University
FECS Faculty Member

“What I particularly liked about the course was the high level of scientific expertise in the area of sustainability that was brought by economics and business professors. I learned a lot and also had the opportunity to network with PhD students across universities who are interested in the same research questions.”

Daniella Zipperer
Student, University of Mannheim

“The knowledge and guidance provided by this course have not only ignited my passion for research in climate and sustainable finance but have also equipped me with the skills and insights necessary for my upcoming third-year research. More importantly, this global course connected me with peer doctoral students across the globe who share my enthusiasm for addressing the pressing challenges of our time.”

Albert Wang
Student, University of Texas

To apply as a faculty convener, please FILL OUT THIS SURVEY.

For additional questions, please contact Prof. Peter Tufano, Harvard Business School, at fecs@hbs.edu