The Black-Scholes model provides an important foundation for mathematicalmodels used for pricing options. Myron Scholes won a Nobel prize for this and related work. It has always been recognised that blindly following models exposes the user to unexpectedrisks since they are often at odds with reality. For some, such modelssymbolise the absurdity of much of modern financial structuring. Nicholas Taleb’s Black Swan theoryrefers to a large impact event beyond the realm of normal expectations, andhas come to represent an event, like the credit crunch, that conventional wisdom said could not happen.A White Swan is different.

 Climate change is anthropogenic—the product of billions of acts of daily consumption. That solutions need to be anthropogenic too is well accepted. Yet, suggested solutions are normally cast in the realms of finance and technology, often neglecting the primal root of the problem: individual behavior. An emerging body of  social-psychology scholarship has examined the barriers and drivers of individual behavior in relation to both adaptation and mitigation. This paper reviews some of its conclusions, and suggests policy areas that should be considered. This is a Policy Research working paper and has been writen by Andrea Liverani on behalf of the World Bank.

In 2007 Mercer and the UNEP Finance Initiative synthesised analyses into how Responsible Investment effects financial returns.  13 studies showed a positive correlation, 14 were neutral and 3 showed a negative correlation. The survey argues that there is enough evidence to show that, at least, responsible investment does not decrease financial returns but some of their biggest positive impacts coulw be long term and thus cannot be measured yet.