Please note that this course is designed for LSE's LLB & LLM students ONLY
“ESG” – a term used to cover a wide range of vital topics, including the climate emergency, biodiversity loss, human rights and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) – is one of the most frequently discussed topics in finance. Governments are looking to the private sector to play a significant part in achieving their public policy goals, and financial institutions are now often criticised, and increasingly challenged in the courts, by a range of stakeholders – sometimes for doing too much, and sometimes for not doing enough.
This four-module extra-curricular course, running in Autumn term, will look at Sustainable Finance policy and regulation in the UK, the EU and the United States. We will consider why governments are seeking to regulate sustainable finance, what they are trying to achieve, and whether their policies are likely to be successful.
The course begins by explaining ESG and sustainable finance and its history, before setting out the apparent objectives of policymakers in regulating it. The subsequent sessions will examine and evaluate existing and forthcoming regulations, both for financial market participants and for corporates. The final session will also consider the litigation landscape, and think about future development of the regulatory framework.
Course leaders
The course will be led by:
Alperen Gözlügöl, Assistant Professor of Law, LSE
Chris Rich, General Counsel, Financial Markets Standards Board
Simon Witney, Visiting Professor in Practice, LSE
Guest speakers
Luke Fletcher, Partner at Bates Wells, Member of the founding team of B Lab UK and co-founder of the Better Business Act campaign
Joana Setzer, Assistant Professorial Research Fellow, Climate governance and climate litigation, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, LSE
Outline Programme
Session 1: Thursday 5 October, 6.00pm to 7.30pm
What is sustainable finance and why does it matter?
Acronyms and jargon
History of ESG and sustainable finance
Differing global perspectives on ESG
What objectives should the regulators have in mind? What do they have in mind?
The basic regulatory architecture in Europe
How can we evaluate regulatory interventions?
Session 2: Thursday 12 October, 6.00pm to 7.30pm
Corporate reporting requirements
What should corporates report and who are the users of this information?
ISSB, GRI and TCFD reporting frameworks, as applied in the UK and the US
CSRD and the ESRSs
The EU Taxonomy
The US approach
Voluntary vs. Mandatory Disclosure
Benefits and costs of sustainability disclosure
Session 3: Thursday 9 November, 6.00pm to 7.30pm
Financial market participants
Fiduciary duties: why they matter in sustainable finance
The EU’s SFDR (and the Taxonomy, again)
Green bonds and debt finance
The UK’s new and emerging regulatory requirements: TCFD, SDR, fund labels, transition plans, and the UK Taxonomy
The US approach
What’s next?
Session 4: Thursday 23 November, 6.00pm to 7.30pm, followed by a drinks reception
Other market participants and drivers for a focus on sustainability
Banking regulation
The regulation of ESG ratings agencies and data providers (EU and UK proposals)
Litigation and disputes, and their impact on the market
What’s next? Towards more positive obligations? The CS3D and domestic equivalents, B Corps and the UK Better Business Act.