The Training Programme run by the UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group and the UNEP FI Training Department offers an online course and in person workshop on the important issue of climate change. When the course was first held in 2007, UNEP FI found strong demand amongst financial institutions to learn about climate change and how it affects their industry.
Today, with the climate change agenda becoming even more relevant for the financial services sector, UNEP FI – with the support of CAF, the Latin American Development Bank – offers the online course on “Climate Change & the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD): Risks & Opportunities for the Banking Industry”. This course prepares banking organizations as lenders to make TCFD-responsive assessments & disclosures, and is based on the groundbreaking work of the UNEP FI pilot groups on TCFD adoption.
Training courses offered under this programme include:
Online course
Since 2007, UNEP FI has been offering an online course on the climate change risks and opportunities for the finance sector.
As the understanding among financial institutions of the risks and opportunities imposed by climate change becomes more nuanced and sophisticated, and given the recent emergence of corresponding assessment & disclosure logics – first and foremost those underpinned by the 2017 recommendations of the FSB Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), there was a need for climate change training tailored to the financial services industry.
In response, UNEP FI – with the support of CAF, the Latin American Development Bank – and eco.business Fund developed the online course on “Climate Change: Risks and Opportunities for the Finance Sector”. The course aims at supporting financial institutions carry out TCFD-responsive assessments & disclosures, and is based on the groundbreaking work of the UNEP FI pilot groups on TCFD adoption.
Courses in 2025
| Date | Language | Tutor |
| 5 – 23 May | English | David Carlin |
| 9 May – 6 June | Spanish | Fred Seifert |
| 22 September – 10 October | English | Paul Smith |
| 29 September – 17 October | Spanish | Gustavo Portaluppi |
| 27 October – 14 November | French | Ilyès Abdeljaouad |
Target Audience
Executives and middle management staff of banks and financial regulators (Central Banks, Superintendences of banks, etc.), from both developed and developing regions. Government and civil society representatives wishing to learn more about the financial risks and opportunities from climate change, and about the required forward-looking assessment methods, are also welcome.
The courses are offered in English, Spanish and French.
Content
The key areas addressed in this course are:
- Climate change as a physical, meteorological phenomenon and the impacts of climate change, covering the basic science of climate change, including the latest scientific insights as compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- The societal response to climate change as a policy-related, economic and technological matter, covering the international climate change regime, its history, and current discussions and challenges; as well as the main policy-related and technological responses to climate change at the national level
- Assessing the credit risks and opportunities from physical climate change
- Assessing the credit risks and opportunities from the transition to the low-carbon economy
Duration and course fees
The course lasts three weeks, for two hours/day on average, five days per week. Participants can set their own study times, allowing for a flexible organisation.
| Participant Profile | Fee |
| Representatives of medium-sized and large financial institutions* (non-UNEPFI-members) | 1400 USD |
|
Representatives of small financial institutions* (non-UNEPFI-members) Representatives of non-Governmental Organisations, academics and Government representatives* |
1200 USD |
| Signatories to UNEP FI (Headquarter & Subsidiaries that pay the annual UNEP FI membership fee) | 900 USD |
*Please note that course fees serve exclusively to cover the costs of running the course, all payments for the Climate Change & the TCFD courses are final and no refund will be given.
5% group discounts (3 or more people from the same Financial Institution in the same course edition) for non signatories.
Cancellation Policy: Participants who cancel their participation in a course once it has started and wish to be placed in a future edition will receive as a courtesy a 10% discount on the tuition for that future course. The course is highly customized, and these late cancellations create costs for the organizers and deny the position in the course to others who were turned away.
Certification: A certificate is delivered by UNEP FI and CAF upon successful completion.
Please note that all applications should be submitted via our online form at least one week prior to the course you wish to participate in.
Training partners
The course material has been updated in 2020 with the support of the Sustainability Academy, an initiative of the eco.business Fund Development Facility and CAF – Latin American Development Bank.
For more information, access our frequently asked questions or contact us.
In-person workshops
UNEP FI along with partners offers tailored in-person workshops on climate change for the financial sector. Welcoming between 20 and 30 persons, the workshops can be held on half or a full day and are held on demand only. In general, participation is free of charge as our workshops are usually supported and sponsored by local partners.
Please contact us for in-person workshop requests.