I. Monasterolo (EDHEC) receives the Banque de France "Young Researchers in Green Finance" Prize

The international research conference "Green Finance Research Advances", aimed at academics and finance professionals, is co-organised by the Banque de France and the Institut Louis Bachelier, with the participation of Finance for Tomorrow and the Institute for Climate Economics-I4CE. The 7th edition took place on 14 and 15 December 2022 in Paris, at the Banque de France, and online, and was the occasion for Irene Monasterolo to receive a prestigious award for her recent research, and for three EDHEC professors - Mirco Rubin, David Zerbib and again Irene Monasterolo - to present their work.

Irene Monasterolo, 2022 Young Green Finance Researcher Award

Since 2018, the Banque de France has been rewarding young researchers in green finance each year in order to "improve our collective knowledge on the impact of climate-related risks on the financial sector and on the financing of the transition to a low-carbon economy". The last two winners are Mathias Reynaert (2021) from the Toulouse School of Economics and David Zerbib (2020), then at CREST and now associate professor at EDHEC.

This year, the selection committee chose Irene Monasterolo, professor of climate finance at EDHEC and director of the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute's "Impact of Finance on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation" programme, as the winner. She received this award on the second day of the Green Finance Research Advances conference by Emmanuelle Assouan, Deputy Director General of the Banque de France and Deputy Secretary General of the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR).

"As for the 2021 edition, I am delighted with the quality of the applications that the international jury of the prize has examined and I warmly congratulate Irene Monasterolo for her research work aimed at better understanding the role of finance in achieving climate objectives and better assessing the associated financial risks and opportunities, particularly through her pioneering work on climate change stress tests, which are crucial for financial stability. This prize marks the importance that the Banque de France attaches to the development of academic research on climate change and green finance, and highlights the contribution of many women scientists to green finance"

Emmanuelle Assouan - Press release, 15 Dec. 2022

A few words about (the work of) the winner

Irene Monasterolo's research focuses on transparency and financial climate risk assessment, as well as on green finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation. In particular, she has developed a climate stress test of the financial system to translate climate and transition scenarios into financial valuation and portfolio risk adjustments. She also developed the EIRIN Stock-Flow Consistent macro-financial model to assess the impact of green finance policies and investor sentiment on decarbonisation. Irene Monasterolo has also contributed to the recent work of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors on Greening the Financial System (NGFS).

• More information: access Irene Monasterolo's personal page
• Discover the "Impact of Finance on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation" programme of the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute

"We are very pleased to see Professor Irene Monasterolo's important contribution to the theory and practice of climate change stress testing and financial stability assessment in the presence of climate shocks recognized with this award. Better modelling of financial risks related to climate change can help promote and inform climate action, in both the real and financial spheres; and as such is one of the core research areas for the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute. Our research teams around Professor Riccardo Rebonato - Scientific Director of the Institute - continue to work to improve the understanding, measurement, and management of the economic and financial risks of climate change. Professor Irene Monasterolo contributes to this effort in close collaboration with the network of central banks and supervisors interested in working on the greening of finance; she also leads the work on the contribution of the financial sector to climate action, which is our second core research area."

Frédéric Ducoulombier, Director of the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute

Three EDHEC researchers present at this 7th edition

The Green Finance Research Advances conference brings together academics, finance professionals and regulators each year to discuss research issues related to the integration of climate risks (and environmental issues more generally) into macroeconomic modelling/forecasting and financial sector risk assessment. This 7th edition aimed more specifically at highlighting climate risks and obstacles to the energy transition in the short and medium term, as well as the role of central banks in addressing them.

Three EDHEC professors were selected to present their work:

Mirco Rubin, Associate professor at EDHEC

• December 14, 11:20-11:45
• Time-varying Environmental Betas and Latent Green Factors
• This paper was co-authored with Emanuele Chini, Research Engineer, EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute and PhD student, EDHEC Business School

David Zerbib, Associate professor at EDHEC

• D. Zerbib is also an affiliate member of the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute
• December 14, 11:45-12:10
• When Green Investors Are Green Consumers

Irene Monasterolo, Professor of Climate Finance at EDHEC

• I. Monasterolo is also Director of the Impact of Finance on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Programme at the EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute
• December 15, 9:50-10:15
• The double materiality of climate physical and transition risks in the euro area