Lunchtime Seminar Series No. 2: Climate-Proofing Sovereign Bonds
After a successful inaugural Lunchtime Sustainability Seminar Series event on 3 December 2025, the Competence Center of Sustainability: Finance, Law, Sciences, and the Humanities (CCS) of the University of Zurich warmly invites you to the second lunch seminar:
Title: Climate-Proofing Sovereign Bonds
Date & Time: Tuesday, 16 December 2025, 12:15-14:15, including Apéro (the seminar itself takes place 12:15-ca. 13:30)
Location: University of Zurich, Center Campus, room KOL-F-104 (floor F), Rämistrasse 71, Zurich
Expert speaker: Dr. Dominic Wälchli, Senior Associate – Schellenberg Wittmer; Lecturer – University of Zurich, Law Faculty
Host: Prof. Dr. Kern Alexander, University of Zurich, Law Faculty; Chair of the UZH Competence Center of Sustainability
Download flyer (PDF, 264 KB) and register here (non-obligatory). Entry is free.
Physical climate risks pose a threat to sovereign debt sustainability. For example, the financial losses connected to Hurricane Ivan’s landfall on the Caribbean island of Grenada led to Grenada having to default on its outstanding sovereign debt. This begs the questions whether any legal mechanisms exist to minimize the risk of climate risk related sovereign defaults. Specific contractual mechanisms allowing for the deferral or adjustment of sovereign debt payment obligations under certain circumstances have been identified as one potential solution. In this seminar, these so called climate resilient sovereign debt clauses will be discussed with the aim to assess whether they are an effective solution to mitigate the risk of climate related sovereign defaults. The discussion is based on the speaker’s recently published book, Climate-Proofing Sovereign Bonds. This seminar (held in English) and the panel discussion will be hosted by Prof. Dr. Kern Alexander, Professor of International Banking and Financial Law and Chair of the UZH CCS. The CCS brings together an interdisciplinary network of experts to promote research and collaboration in the field of environmental and social sustainability.