International Sustainable Finance (LAWS90144)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5Online
Please refer to the return to campus page for more information on these delivery modes and students who can enrol in each mode based on their location.
About this subject
Contact information
March
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Overview
| Availability(Quotas apply) | March - Online |
|---|---|
| Fees | Look up fees |
The Challenge of a Decade, if not our Generation. Can sustainable finance be the answer to climate change, poverty and inequality? The purpose of this subject is to immerse students in sustainable finance in international practice, from sustainable lending, green bonds, renewable energy, innovative structured products and impact investing. Across these markets, key legal concepts, structural features and documentation are covered in detail. By engaging in-depth, through term sheet negotiations, and pitches 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 organisations, to help you become ‘more than a lawyer’.
Principal topics include:
- The Sustainable Development Goals, the evolving regulatory framework of sustainable finance, and implementation by banks, development institutions, funds and corporates in international practice
- Understanding the structural features of sustainable lending, including sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) as well as inclusive finance, along with the relevant principles and contentious issues in negotiation
- Thoroughly analysing and comparing the green, blue, orange, social and sustainable bond structures and terms, including social impact bonds, bond linked to sustainable performance, as well as their challenges in practice
- Negotiating and mastering the negotiation of key terms of renewable energy project finance
- The implementation of impact investing in fund management and private equity, in day to day practice
- How structured finance can further sustainable goals, for instance through refugee finance, vaccine bonds, drought risk transfer and microfinance securitisation
- The litigation challenges in sustainable finance for both investors, issuers and ‘green’ rating agencies, for instance the risk of mis-selling ‘green’ products, and how to address this and other risks in documentation as well as through strategic means.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- Have a detailed understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in theory and legal practice
- Have learnt to apply key legal concepts across a variety of legal areas, from lending, derivatives, capital markets, project finance, structured finance and funds/equity investment
- Have specialised knowledge of the documentation of sustainable finance in these areas
- Mastering the skills required to analyse and compare sustainable transactions – know where to look for, prioritise, assess the merits and the legal risks, and thus
- Be able to critically assess the effectiveness of a sustainable finance product
- Have developed a thorough understanding of the (soft and hard) regulatory framework underpinning sustainable finance globally for sovereigns, banks and corporates, and the legal, litigation and reputation risk in this highly dynamic market
- Build on key negotiation and presentation skills for application in practice.
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Class participation | Throughout the teaching period | 10% |
Research paper on a topic approved by the subject coordinator
| 9 June | 90% |
| Hurdle requirement: Hurdle requirement: A minimum of 75% attendance. Not required when the subject is delivered online. | Throughout the teaching period | N/A |
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
- March - Online
Coordinator Jan Job de Vries Robbe Mode of delivery Online Contact hours Total time commitment 150 hours Pre teaching start date 17 February 2021 Pre teaching requirements Please refer to the Reading Guide on the LMS subject page for confirmation of which resources need to be read and what other preparation is required before the teaching period commences. Teaching period 17 March 2021 to 23 March 2021 Last self-enrol date 22 February 2021 Census date 19 March 2021 Last date to withdraw without fail 30 April 2021 Assessment period ends 9 June 2021 March contact information
Email: law-masters@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 6190
Website: law.unimelb.edu.au
Additional delivery details
This subject will be taught from Thursday to Tuesday.
This subject has a quota of 30 students.
Enrolment is on a 'first in' basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of waitlisted places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Graduate Diploma and Masters students with a satisfactory record in their degree
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis, eg Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Melbourne Law School may reserve places in a subject for incoming international cohorts or where a subject is core to a specialisation with limited alternate options.
Last updated: 30 October 2023
Further information
- Texts
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Please note Single Subject Studies via Community Access Program is not available to student visa holders or applicants
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
If required, please contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for subject coordinator approval.
- Available to Study Abroad and/or Study Exchange Students
Last updated: 30 October 2023