Certified Expert in Biodiversity Finance
Frankfurt, Germany
DURATION
6 Months
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
31 Mar 2025
EARLIEST START DATE
31 Aug 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 1,050 *
STUDY FORMAT
Blended, Distance Learning
* discounts are available
Key Summary
Introduction
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 the exchange of opinions and experiences with your classmates and tutors.
- Personalized support from your e-Campus Team.
- The possibility of achieving a Frankfurt School certificate after passing the final exam or a confirmation of course completion after completing the course.
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.
Blended Option
The e-learning course units can be complemented by two elective on-campus training days at Frankfurt School in Frankfurt, Germany. These days provide the opportunity for participants and trainers to meet in real life for reflection, discussions and deep dives into current trends as well as tailored training sessions.
Gallery
Ideal Students
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.
Admissions
Curriculum
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.
| Setting the scene - Introduction to biodiversity and ecosystem services This introductory unit will present the science behind climate change and its physical impact, before moving on to discuss the impact of climate change on the economy. It will explore economies' need to adapt, addressing the question “what is climate adaptation”, providing the macro perspective of adaptation (UNFCCC definition of adaptation) before moving to the micro perspective of adaptation (what do economies/actors do to adapt?) | Unit 2: Biodiversity loss threat to the financial system - Risks, impacts and dependencies The Unit will provide an overview of the climate finance landscape to understand the importance and relevance of adaptation and climate resilience in terms of scale and contribution to climate finance. The Unit will explore the main building blocks of international adaptation-related policies, looking particularly at the Paris Agreement to anchor the role of the public sector and public support instruments and policies later in the course. | Unit 3: Public and private sector - Initiatives and available frameworks This Unit will provide an introductory overview of the natural roles of actors, presenting the interactions between private and public stakeholders, providing the basis for further analysis into adaptation finance. Private actors must consider how business decisions will change in a changing environment, while public actors must decide how to moderate this structural change (e.g. providing policies, support, information, etc.). The Unit will also introduce the different types of investors and financial intermediaries and an understanding of their decision-making criteria and processes, to answer the overarching question: Why are companies investing in climate and sustainability? |
| Unit 4: Measuring, reporting and strategy This Unit will shift the focus towards the level of climate investments. Participants will gain a methodological understanding of financing at the project level, including how to assess the financial viability of an investment. There are crucial tools necessary to do this, and this unit will provide the basics of business models, finance, and investment, with a focus on investment calculations (including key terms, typical KPIs) and key specifics of business cases, with a reference to climate adaptation. | Unit 5: Opportunities and innovation This Unit explores why markets alone might fundamentally not be able to trigger adaptation investment in a way necessary to mitigate climate change. It introduces market imperfections, or barriers, which may systematically keep adaptation projects from materializing. Once these barriers have been identified, there are a variety of options to tackle or overcome them, leading to efficient market outcomes. This guides you on how public finance or policy can facilitate private financial flows towards adaptation. |
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 | Online Tests | Reading Material |
| 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. | 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 | Discussion Forum | |
| 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. | 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
- Certificate: Your digital certificate will be available upon passing the final examination
If you do not wish to take the final exam, you will receive a confirmation of course participation after completing the course.