Professor Rob Bauer public lecture: What Investors Really Want: Beliefs, Preferences, and the Practice of Sustainable Investing
The Insight Investment – University of Oxford Prize for Greening Finance was established in 2023 to recognise research and service that helps society better understand how environmental change influences finance and investment, and how economic and financial systems can contribute to achieving global environmental sustainability. An endowment has been established to support the Prize in […]
Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance to ‘advance work’ on financing CO2 removal
Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance to ‘advance work’ on financing CO2 removal Ben Caldecott, director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, was recently featured in an article by Responsible Investor, detailing that the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) expects to publish a paper on best practices for how investors can finance the development of carbon dioxide […]
Financing costs and the competitiveness of renewable power
Executive Summary Relative to fossil fuel power, renewables are sensitive to changes in the cost of capital (CoC). After decades of low financing costs, interest rates have risen sharply in developed economies post-COVID19. We investigate the implications of changing CoC on the competitiveness of renewables, with impacts differing by region. In the U.S., higher rates […]
Climate Transition Plans’ Assessment in Hard-to-Abate Sectors: Evidence from Airlines
Executive Summary As industries navigate the transition to net-zero emissions, aviation faces unique challenges balancing growth with decarbonisation. With air travel demand expected to triple by mid-century and limited near-term alternatives to fossil fuels, credible climate transition plans are essential—yet robust assessment tools remain scarce. This study introduces a correlation based scoring framework to evaluate […]
Climate transition finance metrics effectiveness: An industry perspective
Executive Summary Climate transition finance metrics (TFMs) have become crucial for directing capital toward low-carbon pathways, yet their credibility, data integrity, and effectiveness in achieving near-term climate targets remain uncertain. In this study, we systematically examine TFMs reported by some of the largest global financial institutions-including banks, insurers, asset owners, and asset managers-and conduct a […]
Inaugural Oxford Symposium on the Carbon Removal Budget: Bridging Science, Equity, and Innovation.
The global net-zero transition necessitates the active integration of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) strategies alongside emission reductions. However, with CDR emerging as a finite resource, a clearer understanding of its availability, equitable distribution, and potential applications is critical. This symposium will focus on the Carbon Removal Budget (CRB) as a conceptual and practical tool to […]
Environmental Reputation Risk and the Cost of Equity: The Impact of Corporate Response to Climate Change Exposures
Executive Summary This study examines the impact of environmental and climate change reputation risk on the cost of equity, emphasising the role of financial analysts’ perceptions of corporate responses to climate change exposures. We find that reputational risk measured by environmental misconduct is positively associated with a higher cost of equity. However, firms that adopt […]
Examining Climate Transition Risk for Power Companies: Evidence from India
This study investigates the financial impact of climate transition risks for Indian power companies, using a forward-looking, microeconomic climate transition risk model. The analysis utilizes firm-level financial and environmental data, supported by widely used modelling scenarios such as GCAM and REMIND, across different NGFS pathways (B2DS and NZ2050) and shock years (2025 and 2030). Executive […]
Webinar: Research Theme Update for the Insurance Sector
In March 2024, we convened the insurance sector and broader ecosystem to discuss four of the most significant challenges they will face in the coming years. Following on from our event in March 2024, The CGFI Leeds Innovation Hub, in collaboration with the Lighthill Risk Network, Oasis LMF, Journal of Catastrophe Risk and Resilience, and […]
Masterclass in Sustainable Investing
Masterclass in Sustainable Investing Course Director: Chairman and Co-Founder, Impact Lens John is a prominent advisor in environmental investment funds with a 25-year track record in financial planning. As the Owner and Managing Director of various research and investment businesses, he has provided counsel to notable charitable trusts and organisations including WWF-UK, Greenpeace, Vivienne Westwood […]