Overview

Environmental finance is about creating the greatest environmental benefit for the largest number of people at the lowest possible cost. That is the first and most important principle listed in Finance Policy for Renewable Energy and a Sustainable Environment. Focusing on what the author considers to be the 23 principles of environmental finance, this text examines the key financial principles necessary to build strategies and adopt policies to deal effectively with environmental challenges. The text encourages making financial decisions based on science, not politics, and considers what it takes to design and execute environmental finance programs in the most cost-effective way possible. Providing a historical overview of how we got to where we are now, and outlining the 23 principles needed to establish a stronger foundation for the future, this text presents the basic financial tools required to understand the concepts presented. It discusses the proper roles of grants, loans and guaranties, the concept and proper use of affordability, understanding leverage, and generating revenue streams for environmental programs. It also examines subsidies, financial risk reduction strategies, and the challenges posed by alternative energy as well as the next generation of environmental programs. As it relates to how environmental projects and improvements are achieved, Finance Policy for Renewable Energy and a Sustainable Environment outlines the greatest benefits at the lowest possible cost to the public. This text is an ideal resource for upper-level undergraduate students in environmental engineering and business courses, as well as practicing environmental engineers.

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9781439894194

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Reviews

The book is written in a very clear way with many examples relating to everyday life experience that simplifies the explanation of financial products. The 23 principles offer a way to look at finance for environmental goods which is novel and innovative. It's important to note that only a small number are relevant solely to environmental finance - the vast majority relate to finance generally. Unfortunately governments do seem to have forgotten finance principles when they apply finance to the environmental sector (and quite often any sector!). --Dr Aled Jones, Director, Global Sustainability Institute, United Kingdom Mike Curley has provided us with a remarkably erudite, yet accessible, guide to financing the next great wave of environmental improvements. It is likely to become an indispensable source for generating new ideas to give us the biggest environmental bang for our buck. --G. Tracy Mehan, III, Former Assistant Administrator for Water, US EPA Energy Policy cannot be made in a vacuum. Neither can environmental policy. Successful policies must consider cost and how those costs are financed. Mr. Curley's book does just that: it shows us how to create the greatest benefits in terms of renewable energy and environmental improvements at the lowest possible cost to the people. For anyone interested in climate change and the environment, his book is a must-read. --Bill Richardson - Former Governor of New Mexico This is a definitive work in the strongest sense: it presents environmental finance as a critically important, if mostly unrecognized, function within environmental management. More importantly, Curley draws on his long experience as an innovative and influential practitioner to describe, for the first time in one place, the operating principles that define the field. His analyses of these principles manage to uncover previously unsuspected truths in some areas while slaying sacred cows in others. And, remarkably, he does all of this with an easy style that is frequently entertaining but always clear and effective. --John J. Boland, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland Michael Curley is a thoughtful and committed environmental financier whose instincts are sound and observations insightful. He understands how precious our environment is and how few our dollars. His [book] is an essential contribution to 21st century environmental policy. -G. Tracy Mehan, III in THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM, September-October 2014

The book is written in a very clear way with many examples relating to everyday life experience that simplifies the explanation of financial products. The 23 principles offer a way to look at finance for environmental goods which is novel and innovative. It's important to note that only a small number are relevant solely to environmental finance - the vast majority relate to finance generally. Unfortunately governments do seem to have forgotten finance principles when they apply finance to the environmental sector (and quite often any sector!). --Dr Aled Jones, Director, Global Sustainability Institute, United Kingdom Mike Curley has provided us with a remarkably erudite, yet accessible, guide to financing the next great wave of environmental improvements. It is likely to become an indispensable source for generating new ideas to give us the biggest environmental bang for our buck. --G. Tracy Mehan, III, Former Assistant Administrator for Water, US EPA Energy Policy cannot be made in a vacuum. Neither can environmental policy. Successful policies must consider cost and how those costs are financed. Mr. Curley's book does just that: it shows us how to create the greatest benefits in terms of renewable energy and environmental improvements at the lowest possible cost to the people. For anyone interested in climate change and the environment, his book is a must-read. --Bill Richardson - Former Governor of New Mexico This is a definitive work in the strongest sense: it presents environmental finance as a critically important, if mostly unrecognized, function within environmental management. More importantly, Curley draws on his long experience as an innovative and influential practitioner to describe, for the first time in one place, the operating principles that define the field. His analyses of these principles manage to uncover previously unsuspected truths in some areas while slaying sacred cows in others. And, remarkably, he does all of this with an easy style that is frequently entertaining but always clear and effective. --John J. Boland, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland Michael Curley is a thoughtful and committed environmental financier whose instincts are sound and observations insightful. He understands how precious our environment is and how few our dollars. His [book] is an essential contribution to 21st century environmental policy. -G. Tracy Mehan, III in THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM, September-October 2014 The book is written in a very clear way with many examples relating to everyday life experience that simplifies the explanation of financial products. The 23 principles offer a way to look at finance for environmental goods which is novel and innovative. It's important to note that only a small number are relevant solely to environmental finance - the vast majority relate to finance generally. Unfortunately governments do seem to have forgotten finance principles when they apply finance to the environmental sector (and quite often any sector!). --Dr Aled Jones, Director, Global Sustainability Institute, United Kingdom Mike Curley has provided us with a remarkably erudite, yet accessible, guide to financing the next great wave of environmental improvements. It is likely to become an indispensable source for generating new ideas to give us the biggest environmental bang for our buck. --G. Tracy Mehan, III, Former Assistant Administrator for Water, US EPA Energy Policy cannot be made in a vacuum. Neither can environmental policy. Successful policies must consider cost and how those costs are financed. Mr. Curley's book does just that: it shows us how to create the greatest benefits in terms of renewable energy and environmental improvements at the lowest possible cost to the people. For anyone interested in climate change and the environment, his book is a must-read. --Bill Richardson - Former Governor of New Mexico This is a definitive work in the strongest sense: it presents environmental finance as a critically important, if mostly unrecognized, function within environmental management. More importantly, Curley draws on his long experience as an innovative and influential practitioner to describe, for the first time in one place, the operating principles that define the field. His analyses of these principles manage to uncover previously unsuspected truths in some areas while slaying sacred cows in others. And, remarkably, he does all of this with an easy style that is frequently entertaining but always clear and effective. --John J. Boland, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland Michael Curley is a thoughtful and committed environmental financier whose instincts are sound and observations insightful. He understands how precious our environment is and how few our dollars. His [book] is an essential contribution to 21st century environmental policy. -G. Tracy Mehan, III in THE ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM, September-October 2014

The book is written in a very clear way with many examples relating to everyday life experience that simplifies the explanation of financial products. The 23 principles offer a way to look at finance for environmental goods which is novel and innovative. It's important to note that only a small number are relevant solely to environmental finance - the vast majority relate to finance generally. Unfortunately governments do seem to have forgotten finance principles when they apply finance to the environmental sector (and quite often any sector!). --Dr Aled Jones, Director, Global Sustainability Institute, United Kingdom Mike Curley has provided us with a remarkably erudite, yet accessible, guide to financing the next great wave of environmental improvements. It is likely to become an indispensable source for generating new ideas to give us the biggest environmental bang for our buck. --G. Tracy Mehan, III, Former Assistant Administrator for Water, US EPA

Author Information

Michael Curley is currently a visiting scholar at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, DC. He founded the Environmental Finance Centers at the University of Maryland, Cleveland State University, and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. He served as a senior lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University, and he was also an adjunct professor of banking and finance at New York University. He has also taught environmental law and finance at the Vermont Law School. In 1990, he was appointed to the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB) at the EPA, where he served for 21 years under four US Presidents.

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