PhD Spring School – Essen, March 24^th, 2026.

Climate Risk

Instructors:

Professor Dr. Rüdiger Kiesel, University Duisburg-Essen, https://www.lef.wiwi.uni-due.de/team/ruediger-kiesel/

Professor Dr. Gerhard Stahl, HDI, Hannover, https://lef.wiwi.uni-due.de/team/gerhard-stahl/

Content

The effects of global warming and other aspects of climate change pose substantial risks to financial markets. The understanding of the complexity of these risks and their possible impacts is key to the stability of the financial system. However, up to now the risk management approach advocated by regulators and applied by financial institutions is capital-based and modelled as in traditional credit- and operational risk frameworks. We explain reasons for a differing approach on climate risk and propose a classificationframework, which is based on a resilience rather than a capital-based risk management approach. As this framework uses the concept of net-zero emissions and carbon budgets we discuss these concepts and relate them to current developments on financial markets.

9:00 - 9:15 Rüdiger Kiesel and Gerhard Stahl: Setting the Tone!

9:15 – 10:45 Gehard Stahl: A Risk Management framework for Climate Risk

Specific features of climate risk

A resilience-based risk management approach 

11:15 – 12:45 Rüdiger Kiesel: Net-Zero Commitments and Carbon Budgets

How to measure climate risk? Data and methods

Climate Risk Measures: Carbon intensity, carbon budgets, greenness measures

Credibility of net-zero commitments

12:45 – 13:00 Rüdiger Kiesel: Introduction to the Business Case: Net-Zero Commitments 

Created in 2021, the Net-Zero Banking Alliance committed its members to align lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050.

In the run-up to Trump's re-election the six largest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, left their Net Zero Banking Alliance. BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, quit a similar initiative. 

Should European Banks follow suit or try to establish them as low-carbon alternatives?

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch Break 

14:00 – 14:45 Isabell Steidel: Climate policies in international forums: experiences within the OSCE, G20 & G7 Youth Delegations, and the Youth-to-Youth Program of the Worldbank

15:00 – 16:00 Group work on Business Case

16:15 – 17:45 Presentations of Group Work on Business Case

For a little preview of the topics feel free to watch our podcast. 

Deadline for registration: March 20th, 2026