Banque de France Young Researcher Scholarship for Green Finance

Financing the transition to a low carbon economy consistent with the “well below 2 degrees Celsius” goal set out in the Paris agreement and promoting environmentally sustainable growth are among the major challenges of our time. As part of the process of responding to environmental and climate challenges, there are both opportunities and vulnerabilities for financial institutions and the financial system as a whole.

At the Paris One Planet Summit in December 2017, the Banque de France initiated the Central Banks and Supervisors Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). Against this background, further academic research is needed to improve our collective knowledge on the impact of climate-related risks to the financial sector and on the financing of the transition towards a low carbon global economy.

For this reason, the Banque de France has decided to fund a scholarship for young researchers aimed at advancing the frontiers of knowledge. The scholarship will be awarded at the academic conference of the Climate Finance Day to be held at the Banque de France premises on 27 November 2018.

Eligibility and conditions

The Young Researcher Scholarship for Green Finance is intended for researchers who already have their PHD, who are less than 40 years old on 31 October of the year of the award and who are currently affiliated to a French university. The scholarship, funded by the Banque de France, consists of a EUR 15,000 grant allocated to a young researcher.

The payments will be made according to the project financing plan. The outcome of the project should include at least one paper suitable for submission to a major peer-reviewed journal, completed in the 12 to 18 months following the award. The laureate commits to present his/her completed paper(s) at a seminar or a conference organised by the Banque de France or the NGFS in the two years following the award, and to acknowledge the Banque de France’s financial support in any subsequent publication of this research.

Topics

Topics of interest include – but are not limited to – theoretically or empirically relevant work on climate change risks (physical/transition) or opportunities. The work programmes of the three NGFS workstreams provide a basis for identifying relevant topics:

• Climate-related risks measurement and mitigation by financial institutions.
• The disclosure practices of climate-related risks by corporate and financial institutions.
• The potential risk differential between “green” and “brown” assets.
• The transmission channels of climate-related risks to the economy and the financial system at the level of institutional sectors.
• Macroeconomic models to evaluate the impact of climate change on the economy.
• The possible actions of central banks to scale up the green bonds market or the greening of the financial system.

Submission and deadlines

Applicants should submit a description of their project (about 10 pages, bibliography, annexes and detailed budget included) and their CV by 12 October 2018 to 2340-corefi-ut@banque-france.fr.

The prize will be awarded by a high level personality known for his/her commitment against climate change. Participants will be informed in advance of the results.

The Banque de France is a member of Finance for Tomorrow