International Sustainable Finance (LAWS90144)

Is sustainable finance the answer to climate change, poverty and inequality?  The purpose of this subject is to immerse students in sustainable finance in international practice, from micro-finance to green bonds, renewable energy and refugee financing. Across these markets, key legal concepts, structural features and documentation are covered in detail.  By engaging in-depth, through term sheet negotiations, the students jointly develop the skills to assess, prioritise, challenge and negotiate these transactions.

The subject coordinator draws on his own experience in global sustainable finance, and invites experts from international law firms and consultant, to help you become ‘more than a lawyer’.

This innovative subject will combine classroom teaching with online learning.  Students will be expected to attend four days in class and participate in online learning prior to the subject being taught.

Principal topics include:

• The Sustainable Development Goals, their evolving regulatory framework, their implementation by banks, funds and corporates in international practice
• Development Finance, the actors and the law, covering such diverse issues as sanctions law, immunities and aspects of state aid, as well as environmental and social law in financial transactions
• Understanding the structural features of international financial transactions with a focus on sustainability
• Inclusive finance, through microfinance, gender finance and small and medium enterprise (SME) lending, and relevant regulation
• Green bonds, SDGs bonds and social impact bonds, furthering sustainability the capital markets
• Local currency financing as a means for derivatives to provide sustainable development
• Legal aspects of renewable energy project finance
• Impact investing (private equity and funds)
• Examples of structured sustainable finance, for instance through refugee finance, vaccine bonds, drought risk transfer and microfinance securitisation 
• Examples of litigation in sustainable finance, for instance the risk of mis-selling ‘green’ products, and legal means to address this risk in documentation as well as through strategic means.