Economic Development MSc
Sustainability and Green Finance ECON5125
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: Adam Smith Business School
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: No
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course introduces theoretical and practical issues related to sustainability and green finance. The course focuses on: sustainability and its internalisation in the economy; governance and firm behaviour; green in the context of finance.
Timetable
One 2-hour interactive lecture per week x 10 weeks.
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
1. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 2650 words; 75%; ILOs 1-4.
2. Oral assessment & presentation; Group; 10 Minutes; 25%; ILOs 1-5.
Are reassessment opportunities available for all summative assessments? No
It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.
[No exceptions]
Course Aims
This course aims to provide students with the knowledge to understand the role of financial sector in achieving environmental goals towards a sustainable future. In this context, the course will provide students with a grounding in:
■ Social and environmental challenges in the economy and environmental goals.
■ Firms' behaviour and governance in the context of environmental goals.
■ The role of financial sector in transitioning to green economy.
■ Related products, strategies, and policies developed in the financial sector.
■ The role of central banks in the transition of the financial sector.
■ Firm, industry, and country level cases of sustainability and green finance.
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Analyse and evaluate the environmental and social challenges and sustainable development goals.
2. Discuss firms' and/or policy makers' (e.g., governments, central banks) decisions in the context of sustainability and analyse the challenges that firms and/or policy makers face and their changing objectives by using appropriate data.
3. Analyse how green finance products are used in the economy and related central bank/ government policies to produce recommendations.
4. Analyse the role of government regulations and policies in transitioning to a sustainable economy in a country context.
5. Work collaboratively to create a group output and develop teamworking skills.