Candidates applying to the Climate Finance course put together by the CFA Institute and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) are now eligible for training subsidies provided under the Hong Kong SAR government’s Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme. Hong Kong’s three-year scheme has been established to incentivise more professionals to acquire the skills needed to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon and sustainable economy, with eligible applicants able to claim reimbursements for up to 80% of exam registration fees. Full-time students will be able to claim up to 100% reimbursements. The Climate Finance course provides an introduction to climate change and its related economic and environmental impacts and solutions, providing both the issuer and investor perspective. It will cover topics such as carbon pricing and sustainable business models. The CFA Institute Certificate in ESG Investing is also included as one of the eligible programmes under the pilot scheme. Nick Pollard, the CFA Institute’s Managing Director, Asia Pacific, said: “ESG factors are increasingly recognised as integral components of investment analysis. Growing demand for products and skills to support sustainable investing, and concerns over greenwashing, have created a real and urgent need for finance professionals to develop a deeper understanding of how these factors are impacting the industry, clients, and the world at large. With […] candidates able to benefit from subsidies under the [scheme], we take another step towards a more sustainable future.”
