PUBPOL 5615

Sustainable Finance: Southeast Asia and Global Perspectives

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

Climate change presents a dilemma. Under the Paris Agreement, countries of the world committed to the goal of limiting warming to no more than two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times. Scientists have warned that exceeding the threshold would increase the risks of heatwaves, drought, and extreme weather. Achieving the target, however, requires collective efforts to reduce emissions. Households, businesses, and governments would have to radically shift to cleaner energy supply and greener activities, which will take a great deal of financial resources. Sustainable finance attempts to address this challenge by integrating finance as a discipline into the sustainability framework. Designed for policy students, this course considers the perspectives of policymakers rather than business actors in navigating the green transition. Case studies will be drawn primarily from Southeast Asia, which is considered one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, although much of the framework is also applicable to other regions around the globe.

Prerequisites introductory coursework in economics and finance, along with basic proficiency in Excel.

Distribution Requirements (SBA-HE)

Exploratory Studies (CU-SBY)

Last 4 Terms Offered 2025SP, 2024SP

Outcomes

• Identify the state of climate change in Southeast Asia and around the globe.
• Recognize the role of government, and the limit thereof, in addressing climate change.
• Evaluate the feasibility of government financing (i.e., taxation) in the green transition.
• Identify private financing mechanisms and apply techniques to evaluate their efficacy.
• Identify policy interventions (and potential unintended consequences) to mobilize private financing in the transition.

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