The Certificate in Climate and Investing will enable candidates to understand the implications of climate change on an investment organisation and incorporate relevant tools, techniques and data into investment decision making.

There are no formal entry criteria for this qualification, but it is strongly recommended that candidates have a solid grounding in the investment process achieved via formal qualification or experience.

Candidates should have a solid grounding in the investment process achieved via formal qualification or experience.

The Certificate in Climate and Investing consists of a single standalone examination unit which you must pass in order to achieve the qualification.

No exemptions are available. 

The syllabus provides detail on the knowledge, skills and understanding against which you will be assessed.

The question allocation across the syllabus is balanced on the guidance of industry specialists. The syllabus also includes detail on how questions are allocated across topic areas.

The Certificate in Climate and Investing is assessed through online testing using the following question types:

• Standard multiple choice – candidates select 1 option of 4.
• Multiple response multiple choice – candidates select all answers that apply These questions will clearly state ‘Select all that apply’.
• Gap fill – candidates must enter a specific response.
• Drag and drop – candidates must drag and drop the selected response into the correct field.
• Short item set – candidates are given a short scenario with 3 questions associated with it. The material in the case study does not change with the questions.
• Long item set – candidates are given a long scenario with 5 questions associated with it. The material in the case study does not change with the questions.

Exams are delivered through computer-based testing at centres and via remote proctoring, both options are administered by CFA UK’s testing partner, Pearson Vue. A large number of test centres are available across the UK. International candidates will need to take the examination via remote proctoring.

The Certificate in Climate and Investing examination tests your knowledge against the learning outcome statements of the Certificate in Climate and Investing syllabus. In order to pass the exam, you must demonstrate competence against these criteria.

A full specimen paper is available here.

The specimen paper incorporates questions similar in style and difficulty to those in the Certificate in Climate and Investing examination. Please note that, whilst these questions are indicative of the types of question asked, they are by no means exhaustive. You are strongly recommended to take the necessary time to understand and address the learning outcomes in the syllabus.

A standard setting process has been undertaken by investment practitioners and assessment experts to determine the required 'standard' that candidates must meet in order to pass the Certificate in Climate and Investing. We follow a consistent process to ensure all exams have an equivalent level of difficulty. The pass mark for the Certificate in Climate and Investing is between 60% and 75%. Exams consisting of harder questions will have a relatively lower pass mark and vice-versa.

We estimate that a typical candidate will take in the region of 150 hours to study for the qualification. The Total Qualification Time (TQT) for this qualification is 152 hours.  This will vary depending on previous experience and includes any formal study as well as self-study and assessment time.

The Certificate in Climate and Investing is a Level 4 qualification. This means that the level of difficulty of the qualification broadly equates to the first-year of an undergraduate degree.