The Course
Looking to understand and lead in the world of carbon trading and climate finance? This diploma takes you to the core of global carbon markets, combining regulatory depth with financial innovation. From the EU ETS and UK ETS to China’s national system, Singapore’s carbon tax, and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, you will explore the mechanics, risks, and opportunities of compliance markets. Alongside this, you will engage with voluntary carbon standards, integrity frameworks, and the fast-growing role of carbon as a financial asset.
You’ll gain practical insights into evaluating credit quality, designing compliance strategies, managing exposure to market and legal risks, and structuring carbon-linked finance. Through real-world case studies, market simulations, and scenario-based exercises, you will learn how to navigate carbon procurement, advise clients, and align investments with climate goals. Whether you are in finance, consulting, corporate strategy, or policy, this diploma equips you to move beyond theory, positioning you to lead confidently in a global market where climate action and financial performance are increasingly intertwined.
What you will learn
By the end of this diploma, you will have a comprehensive understanding of how carbon markets function across jurisdictions and how they connect to global climate finance. You will be able to interpret the rules of leading compliance systems, assess the integrity of voluntary credits, and understand how carbon is increasingly treated as a tradable financial asset.
You will also gain the ability to:
- Analyse compliance obligations under systems such as the EU ETS, UK ETS, and China’s national ETS.
- Evaluate credit quality and apply integrity standards such as the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles.
- Design and implement strategies that integrate carbon procurement, risk management, and corporate decarbonisation.
- Advise clients and organisations on the financial, legal, and reputational implications of carbon market participation.
- Apply practical tools through case studies and simulations, from structuring carbon-linked finance to preparing market-aligned disclosure.
These outcomes will enable you to bridge the gap between compliance and strategy, equipping you to operate with confidence in a market where climate regulation, investment, and competitiveness are inseparably linked.
Curriculum
- Climate change economics and the case for carbon pricing
- Market mechanisms: cap-and-trade vs. baseline-and-credit
- Evolution of global carbon markets under the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement (Article 6 focus)
- Introduction to climate finance: flows, instruments, and global needs
- Ethics and controversies: additionality, leakage, and greenwashing
- Quiz
- Deep-dive into the EU’s pioneering schemes and their global spillovers
- Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): mechanics, reporting, and 2026 transition to payments
- New Linking ETS with energy policy: Fit for 55, ETS2 for buildings and road transport
- Case study: a shipping company’s compliance journey in 2025–2027
- UK ETS reforms and divergence from the EU
- Quiz
- China’s ETS expansion to steel, cement, aluminium, and compliance structure
- Korea ETS Phase 4 plan (2026–2035), price dynamics, and derivatives
- Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism: baselines, credits, and cost containment
- North America: California, Quebec (WCI), and Washington State cap-and-invest
- Canada’s federal backstop and provincial carbon pricing
- Quiz
- Article 6.2 and 6.4: bilateral transfers and the UN crediting mechanism
- CORSIA for international aviation: obligations, eligible units, and supply risks
- International maritime initiatives: IMO strategy and overlaps with ETS
- Corresponding adjustments, double counting risks, and host country LoAs
- Case study: Airline procurement strategy under CORSIA
- Quiz
- Evolution of the voluntary market: REDD+, renewable energy, cookstoves, and removals
- ICVCM Core Carbon Principles: quality labels and implications
- VCMI Claims Code v3.0: Scope 3 Action/Flexibility Claim and disclosure requirements
- Corporate buyer perspectives: reputational risk, assurance, and greenwashing litigation
- Practical lab: designing a credible voluntary carbon claim
- Quiz
- EU Carbon Removals Certification Framework (CRCF): scope, methodologies, and registry
- Nature-based solutions: afforestation, soil carbon, blue carbon, and permanence risks
- Technological removals: DACCS, BECCS, biochar, enhanced weathering
- New Procurement models for removals: offtake agreements, advanced market commitments
- Case study: Climeworks Mammoth and lessons for corporate buyers
- Quiz
- Green bonds, transition bonds, and sustainability-linked loans with carbon KPIs
- Carbon credits as financial assets: derivatives, futures, and risk hedging
- Climate funds, blended finance, and multilateral support for developing countries
- Role of development banks and sovereign carbon finance strategies
- Case study: carbon-linked financing for a renewable energy project
- Quiz
- MRV (Measurement, Reporting, Verification) standards and digital registry innovations
- Corporate disclosure requirements: ISSB, CSRD (under review), SEC climate rules
- Litigation and liability: carbon claims, misrepresentation, and greenwashing
- Internal governance: board responsibility, climate officers, and compliance programs
- Building a corporate carbon risk register and audit trail
- Quiz