FSDF e-Campus | Certified Expert in Biodiversity Finance

Biodiversity underpins life on Earth. Healthy ecosystems provide ecosystem services essential to human well-being and economic activities. Scientists estimate that one million of the world’s estimated 8 million species of plants and animals are on the verge of extinction, and this could curtail our ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Why should financial institutions care? In today's world, financial institutions play a pivotal role in managing financial resources and contributing to the conservation of our planet's invaluable biodiversity. They impact biodiversity through their lending or investment decisions. At the same time, they are exposed to physical, reputational, systemic, and transitional risks due to biodiversity loss. Hence, the disruption of biodiversity poses significant yet often overlooked risks to financial stability. The financial sector is increasingly acknowledging the financial risks associated with biodiversity loss and the integral role it could play in preserving the delicate balance of life on Earth. According to UNEP, if the world is to achieve its climate change, biodiversity, and land degradation objectives, investments in nature must triple by 2030.

Our Biodiversity Finance Course is designed to deepen your understanding of risks associated with biodiversity loss and empower you with the knowledge and tools needed to support the preservation of Earth's diverse ecosystems as financial actors.

What Do We Offer?

An interactive e-learning course including video lectures, PDF scripts, practical exercises, online tests and case studies.
A discussion forum for course related issues as well as for exchange of opinions and experiences with your classmates and tutors.
Personalized support from your e-Campus Team.
The possibility to achieve a Frankfurt School certificate after passing the final exam or a confirmation of course completion after completing the course.

Tuition Fees*

Registration Date	Fee
Before Jan 15, 2024	EUR 850
After Jan 15, 2024	EUR 1050

Final exam fee: An additional final exam fee will be charged for the second and third final exam attempt

Discounts:

10% group discount (for 2 or more participants working for the same institution, informed to us before by an email)
10% for FS Alumni
for additional company packages, please contact us

Payment Options

Bank Transfer (bank fees to be covered by the participants)
Credit Card
PayPal

Payment in instalments is unfortunately not possible.

*Subject to change

Target Audience

Finance experts and professionals, including retail bankers, financial advisors, asset managers, risk managers etc., and all other financial industry professionals and practitioners in the financial sector interested in the topic of sustainable and biodiversity finance.

Workload

The course takes approx. 6 months assuming 3-4 hours of self-study per week. It consists of five mandatory units, which build upon each other.

You are not sure if you can manage to complete the course within 6 months? No worries! You can apply for a course extension (6 more months) for an administrative fee.

Dates

Course Start	Course End	Registration	Early Bird
Sept. 1	Feb. 28	Jun. 1 - Sept. 1	by Jul. 15
Mar. 1	Aug. 31	Dec. 1 - Mar. 1	by Jan. 15

Course contributes to UN SDGs

All our courses contribute to the following SDGs

This course will give you a deeper understanding of the following SDGs. The SWA offers professional and executive courses dedicated to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Registration

Registrations for the programme beginning on 1 September 2024 will open on 1 June 2024. Get notified by signing up for our newsletter.

Newsletter

Course Details*

In a world increasingly aware of the urgent need for environmental conservation, this course allows you to align with sustainability and thrive in the evolving financial landscape of environmental conservation. Biodiversity finance is the key to safeguarding our planet's future while ensuring the financial institution’s long-term success.

In the foundational module, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of biodiversity and the vital role it plays in our world. Discover how healthy ecosystems are the backbone of our economy, providing essential services that underpin financial stability. This course explores the intricate link between biodiversity loss and climate change, to identify, assess, and mitigate biodiversity-related risks in the financial sector’s operations and investments. Participants delve into biodiversity finance, demystifying terms like impact dependence and double materiality, and uncovering risk management strategies. Explore tools for assessing risks and evaluating impacts and opportunities.

The course also discusses the public and private sectors' roles and helps navigate the complex legal and regulatory landscape surrounding biodiversity finance.

Lastly, participants gain insights into real-world examples that have already started their journey to integrated biodiversity finance within a financial sector's strategy, processes and products. successfully.

Interested participants can deepen their understanding of closely related topics in the three electives:

Forests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, providing habitats for countless species. Deforestation-free finance helps protect this biodiversity by reducing the pressure on forests, and safeguarding the species that call them home. Deforestation-free finance is crucial for protecting biodiversity, mitigating climate change, supporting local communities, and ensuring the sustainable use of forest resources. It aligns with global sustainability goals and promotes responsible business practices across various industries.
Oceans are home to a vast array of marine species. Properly managed blue economy finance can help conserve biodiversity and protect endangered species by supporting them. The importance of blue economy finance lies in its potential to promote sustainable development and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems while also driving economic growth.
The circular economy concept is essential for biodiversity conservation because it reduces resource consumption, waste generation, and environmental degradation. By promoting more sustainable and responsible resource management, the circular economy contributes to protecting and preserving ecosystems and the species that depend on them.

Suggestions & Recommendations

While you decide on the timing and pace of your learning experience, we would like to give you some recommendations on how to get the most out of this course:

Your schedule: We will provide you with a course schedule including voluntary and mandatory deadlines. This course schedule is a guideline for planning your learning and ensuring you complete the programme within the given timeframe.

Assignments: By completing the assignment, you will learn how to apply the knowledge learned during the course. It is important that you take time to read the necessary materials and solve the assignment.

Networking Opportunities: Use the forum to introduce yourself to your peers and start interesting discussions.

Unit 1: Setting the scene - Introduction to biodiversity and ecosystem services

In this unit, we introduce the participants to the complex world of biodiversity, providing a comprehensive overview of concepts, the science, and exploring the interplay and interdependence between biodiversity loss and climate change. The unit also provides regional and sectoral case examples of the importance of biodiversity to the overall society and business.

Unit 3: Public and private sector - Initiatives and available frameworks

The module is dedicated to biodiversity initiatives and frameworks. It is specifically designed to help participants develop a good understanding of the role of the public and private sectors in biodiversity finance. It introduces participants to initiatives currently under development at the regulatory level, such as taxonomies. This module also aims to cover platforms and tools available for assessing biodiversity-related risks and opportunities.

Unit 5: Opportunities and innovation

Having grasped the context of biodiversity finance, the risks associated, and current standards, tools, and frameworks, the fifth unit delves into the biodiversity finance landscape, exploring an array of financial opportunities, including projects related to biodiversity as nature-based solutions, climate-smart agriculture, and restoration. Lastly, the module further delves into the financial products, funds and forms of capital suited for investment in this realm.

Unit 2: Biodiversity loss threat to the financial system - Risks, impacts and dependencies

Within this module, we explore how the loss of biodiversity possesses the capacity to disrupt the financial system and the economy as a whole. It explains key terminologies and concepts of biodiversity finance and biodiversity loss as impact dependence and double materiality. This Unit delves into the intricate connections between biodiversity and financial stability, explaining double materiality and risk management strategies.

Unit 4: Measuring, reporting and strategy

In this module, participants will gain insights into the current tools, databases, initiatives, targets, metrics, and approaches that are used to evaluate biodiversity risks, and measure impacts, and interdependencies within a company's overall strategy.

*Subject to change

Training Approach

The flexibility of our courses offers you the opportunity to follow your own schedule and to combine daily work with professional development.

The high quality offered will immediately improve your daily job performance as well as the performance of your institution.

Training Material

Video Lectures

Introvideos: After viewing the lectures, participants will have a basic understanding of each topic and will be able to classify importance and relevance of different techniques and aspects in a broader context.
Web-based Presentations: Web based presentation complement the scripts and give additional input on important topics.

Online Tests

Each unit ends with an online test comprising a set of 10 - 15 multiple choice questions. Only after having successfully completed an online test you will gain access to the next unit.

Reading Material

A PDF script is for most of our courses the main studying material. This reading material provides basic concepts and principles applicable to the subject of each unit.

Assignments

The key to successful learning is the immediate use of newly acquired knowledge and the transfer of theory into practice. Our online courses are therefore supplemented by mandatory assignments.

Discussion Forum

A course discussion forum enables the interaction between participants and trainers and facilitates the exchange of experiences as well as possibilities to ask questions or get clarifications.

Final Exam

Passing a final examination is a requirement for obtaining your certificate.

Location: The final exam takes place online
Duration: The final exam takes 2 hours.
Costs:
An additional final exam fee will be charged for the second and third final exam attempt.

If you do not wish to take the final exam, you will receive a confirmation of course participation after completing the course.

The FS-UNEP Centre

The content of this course was developed by the Frankfurt School - UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance (http://fs-unep-centre.org/). The Centre is a strategic cooperation between Frankfurt School and the UN Environment programme. Its vision is to advance transformation to resilient low-carbon and resource-efficient economies by attracting new types of investors, in particular catalysing the financing of clean energy by the private sector. The Centre is UNEP’s major knowledge hub for climate & biodiversity finance related aspects.

Beyond your Certificate

Packages

Master of Leadership in Sustainable Finance

The Certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance is an Elective Module of the Master of Leadership in Sustainable Finance - online. Join our Master programme after completing the CECAF course and waive one elective module. Also, the amount you paid for the course will be deducted from the final tuition fee of the Master programme.

Diploma in Green Finance

The Certified Expert in Climate Adaptation Finance Finance is part of the curriculum of our Diploma in Green Finance. Enroll in our Diploma after completing the CECAF course and waive one module. Also, the amount you paid for the course will be deducted from the final tuition fee of the Diploma.