Climate change — and the increased impact of weather-related disasters — have huge implications for the ways banks and insurance companies manage risk, and the way that companies report the potential environmental cost of weather, carbon dioxide emissions, and other greenhouse gases on the value of their firms. Carbon Finance is the first book to examine what activities and businesses are de-stablizing the carbon cycle, hydrology and temperature, and to assist the reader in understanding emission metrics such as carbon, carbon dioxide, and equivalents. Carbon Finance looks at a variety of risk transfer measures — such as catastrophe bonds, weather derivatives, weather indexes, and other risk transfer measures used to mitigate severe weather risk. In addition, thc book looks at the Kyoto Protocol, its impact on Carbon Finance, critical market participants in Carbon Finance, and the role that Carbon Finance is now playing in sound corporate governance and value creation. It also looks at environmental finance and the role it will play on company valuations.
Book Details:
- Author: Sonia Labatt
- ISBN: 9780470129944
- Year Published: 2007
- Pages: 288
- BISAC: BUS027000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS/Finance
About the Book and Topic:
Climate change — and the increased impact of weather-related disasters — have huge implications for the ways banks and insurance companies manage risk, and the way that companies report the potential environmental cost of weather, carbon dioxide emissions, and other greenhouse gases on the value of their firms. Carbon Finance is the first book to examine what activities and businesses are de-stablizing the carbon cycle, hydrology and temperature, and to assist the reader in understanding emission metrics such as carbon, carbon dioxide, and equivalents. Carbon Finance looks at a variety of risk transfer measures — such as catastrophe bonds, weather derivatives, weather indexes, and other risk transfer measures used to mitigate severe weather risk. In addition, thc book looks at the Kyoto Protocol, its impact on Carbon Finance, critical market participants in Carbon Finance, and the role that Carbon Finance is now playing in sound corporate governance and value creation. It also looks at environmental finance and the role it will play on company valuations.
As the competitive and regulatory environment increases around the globe and the Kyoto Protocol is implemented, lenders and fund managers will be exposed to increasing portfolio risk resulting from climate change and CO2 emissions. This risk will come from carbon intensive industries such as transport, automobile makers, energy services and utilities, and victims such as the agricultural, livestock and tourism industries. Within electric utilities, for example, the discounted future costs of meeting even less ambitious Kyoto targets could amount to 11.5% of total current market value for the most carbon-intensive utilility company to 0.2% in the least; the equivalent of up to 45% of current share value. Alarmingly, few companies disclose the degree to which they are financially exposed to climate change issues, and few companies attempt to quantify these risks for shareholders.
What is Carbon Finance? The objective of carbon finance is to find the lowest cost emissions reduction possibilities. Kyoto Protocal now makes Carbon Finance a hot topic on Wall Street, and among institutional investors. The first complete guide on carbon finance and financial products, and the significant impact of climate change on corporate valuation for many carbon-sensitive industries. Swiss Re, a market leader in Carbon Finance, is supporting the book’s marketing efforts. Will support with marketing efforts via Swiss Re website, similar to what Goldman Sachs has done with us. Also supporting book with buyback of books for clients. Environmental Finance, the lead publication in this editorial, will also help promote the book. World of finance and climate change now intersecting. Climate change is the problem, and Wall Street is now deriving market-based solutions to transfer risks and address environmental issues that have potential to impact large companies.
About the Author
Rodney White is Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies (IES) at the University of Toronto. His experience includes environmental consulting work for clients such as the World Bank, UNESCO, the Canadian International Development Agency, the United States Agency for International Development, and consulting engineers W.S. Atkins, SNC-Lavalin, and ARA Management Consultants. His most recent books include North, South and the Environmental Crisis (University of Toronto Press, 1993), and Urban Environmental Management (Wiley, 1994). Sonia Labatt is an associate faculty member for the Institute of Environmental Studies (IES) at the University of Toronto. A founding investor in Trimark Financial Corporation, she is actively engaged with the financial services world, as an active investor, and the academic world of environmental finance through a graduate level course that she has taught since 1996, “Corporate Perspectives on the Environment.”