Sustainable finance and environmental responsibility
- Credits: 6
- Ending: Examination
- Range: 2P + 2C
- Semester: summer
- Year: 1
- Faculty of Economics and Finance
Teachers
Included in study programs
Teaching results
The main learning outcomes that students will gain after completing the course are knowledge of current environmental issues as well as opportunities for environmental improvement through funding - from both the public and private sectors. Including the possibility of using alternative sources of funding, public-private partnership models such as voluntary agreements. The aim of the course is to extend the objective of finance, which is to maximise the monetary and non-monetary gains of an economic entity, to include a sense of overall well-being expressed in terms of developmentally higher needs such as social needs, environmental impacts, the need for self-fulfilment and the meaningfulness of one's activities.
Knowledge and understanding
- Apply and appropriately use the theories and tools of classical economics, maximizing individual utility or profit, and/or the market value of the enterprise/state.
- Understand the broader context and consequences of the decisions made by economic agents not only on immediate economic outcomes but also on social, environmental and policy impacts - ESG.
- Acquire the latest theoretical knowledge required for scholarly work in environmental finance.
Skills
- The student is able to think critically, analyse problems in the field of financial economics and use a broad set of decision-making tools to respond competently to situations as they arise. Group work will encourage teamwork and its presentation will encourage discussion and argumentation.
Competencies
- The student can work as an individual or as a leader of a professional team in the field of sustainable finance and socially and environmentally responsible financial management
Indicative content
The environment and its connection to the economy – the financial and economic dimension of the environment. The importance of the environment for the economic system. Negative impacts on the environment and optimal environmental quality.
Formulation of environmental policy. Principles of environmental policy and causes of environmental damage in the EU. The economic situation in Slovakia and alternative resources
The development of theoretical approaches to the limited nature of environmental resources and the need to protect them as a public good, and the emergence and development of financial economics
Problems of environmental overload and pollution. Taxation of negative externalities.
Application of financial and economic instruments for environmental protection. Market instruments: Emissions trading - Emissions trading schemes.
Market instruments: Environmental taxes. Economic impacts of introducing environmental taxes, their fiscal and stimulatory function. Types of environmental taxation and possibilities for greening the tax system in the Slovak Republic and European Union countries. Competitiveness of states and companies in introducing environmental measures.
Tax vs. emissions trading schemes. Market instruments: Fees. Non-market instruments and other measures. Economic impacts of regulatory measures and indirect environmental protection instruments.
Types of motivation and benefits of sustainable and responsible behavior of individual economic entities. Financial management in the context of CSR and ESG
Possibilities of using renewable energy sources and their impact on the environment, energy efficiency. Circular economy
Effectiveness of environmental investments and mechanisms for financing them in the private and public sectors, use of public-private partnership models. Sustainable agriculture and food security. Responsible state and responsible company.
Support literature
1. CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion: Overview An essential tool for analysts and policy makers Statistics report — July 2020. In International Energy Agency, IEA, 2019.
2. Corporate Social Responsibility, 2021. Dostupné na internete: https://www.csrhub.com/ CSR_ratings_by_region_and_country/
3. FRANCIS, Bator. The anatomy of market failure. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1958, 72.3: 351-379.
4. HILLMAN, Amy J.; WITHERS, Michael C.; COLLINS, Brian J. Resource dependence theory: A review. Journal of management, 2009, 35.6: 1404-1427.
5. KYSAR, Douglas A. What climate change can do about tort law. Envtl. L., 2011, 41: 1.
6. Mezřický, V.: Environmentální politika a udržitelný rozvoj. Praha: Portál 2005
7. MONJON, Stéphanie; QUIRION, Philippe. A border adjustment for the EU ETS: Reconciling WTO rules and capacity to tackle carbon leakage. Climate Policy, 2011, 11.5: 1212-1225.
8. MULDER, Christian; CONTI, Erminia; MANCINELLI, Giorgio. Carbon budget and national gross domestic product in the framework of the Paris Climate Agreement. Ecological indicators, 2021, 130: 108066.
9. NEVES, Sónia Almeida; MARQUES, António Cardoso; PATRÍCIO, Margarida. Determinants of CO2 emissions in European Union countries: does environmental regulation reduce environmental pollution?. Economic Analysis and Policy, 2020, 68: 114-125.
10. Romančíková, E.: Ekonómia a životné prostredie, Iura Edition,Bratislava,2011
11. RITCHIE, Hannah; ROSADO, Pablo; ROSER, Max. Greenhouse gas emissions. Our world in data, 2020.
12. SALIB, Peter N. The Pigouvian Constitution. The University of Chicago Law Review, 2021, 88.5: 1081-1156.
13. SHAHBAZ, Muhammad; SINHA, Avik. Environmental Kuznets curve for CO2 emissions: a literature survey. Journal of Economic Studies, 2019, 46.1: 106-168.
14. STERNER, Thomas; KÖHLIN, Gunnar. Environmental taxes in Europe. In: Environmental taxation in practice. Routledge, 2017. p. 3-28. MASUR, Jonathan S.; POSNER, Eric A. Toward a Pigouvian state. U. Pa. L. Rev., 2015, 164: 93.
15. State and trends of carbon pricing 2022. In World Bank, 2022.
16. VÁLEK, Juraj; RIMEŠ, Michal; KUŠNÍROVÁ, Jana. The Role of Taxation in Moving Towards Sustainable Green Growth. Economics, Management & Business 2023: Contemporary Issues, Insights and New Challenges. Prešov: Vydavateľstvo Prešovskej univerzity v Prešove, 2023, , 705-718. ISBN 978-80-555-3215-8.
17. VALEK, J. – KUŠNIROVA, J. – IHNATIŠINOVA, D. – RABATINOVÁ, M. 2025. Daňovníctvo – teória a prax. 1. vydanie. Bratislava : Wolters Kluwer ČR, a. s., 2025, 428 s. ISBN 978-80-286-0335-9 (brož); ISBN 978-80-286-0336-6 (pdf)
18. VAUGHAN, Adam. EU's carbon tax will apply globally. 2021.
19. WOLDE-RUFAEL, Yemane; MULAT-WELDEMESKEL, Eyob. Do environmental taxes and environmental stringency policies reduce CO2 emissions? Evidence from 7 emerging economies. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2021, 28.18: 22392-22408.
20. zákony – denná odborná tlač a odborné ekonomické časopisy, prípadne www.zbierka.sk, https://www.slov-lex.sk/domov,
Literatúra bude priebežne aktualizovaná, o najnovšie vedecké a odborné tituly.
Requirements to complete the course
10% active participation in discussion, 20 % continuous written work, 20% case study on a current topic – group elaboration, 50 % final written exam,
Student workload
participation in lectures 26 hours, participation at seminars 26 hours, preparation for seminars 12 hours, preparation for case study 16h, preparation for continuous written work 16 hours, preparation for exam 60 hours
Language whose command is required to complete the course
slovak
Date of approval: 05.03.2025
Date of the latest change: 31.01.2026