Ian Cochran

Ian Cochran serves as a part-time Lecturer in Climate Finance & Investment within the Department of Accounting and Finance at the University of Edinburgh Business School, where he teaches the MSc Climate Finance & Investment programme. He is an active member of the Centre for Business, Climate Change and Sustainability (B-CaSS) and concurrently holds the position of Head of Consultancy at Changeworks, a Scotland-based social enterprise focused on accelerating decarbonisation through research and policy influencing.

His academic foundation includes a PhD in Economics from Université Paris-Dauphine, a Master of Public Affairs from Sciences-Po Paris, and a BA in Policy Studies from Syracuse University Maxwell School. Prior to his current roles, he contributed to climate policy development at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE), while also lecturing at Sciences-Po Paris and Université Paris-Dauphine.

Cochran’s research critically examines the intersection of financial systems and climate action, with emphasis on Paris Agreement alignment mechanisms, integrity of sustainable financial products, and public financial institutions’ role in decarbonisation. His work addresses urgent challenges including greenwashing in ESG investments, climate risk perception gaps among investors, and operational frameworks for translating international climate commitments into actionable financial strategies – particularly within development finance contexts.

Analysis of his 2021-2024 publications reveals a strategic focus on regulatory effectiveness, where he investigates how hybrid reporting regimes (like the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) may inadvertently undermine climate capital reallocation. His scholarship consistently bridges academic rigor with policy relevance, demonstrating how development finance institutions can operationalize long-term climate strategies through institutional governance reforms.

As Principal Investigator for the active research project 'Comparative roles of public financial institutions in support of low-GHG climate-resilient policy objectives' (2022-present), he examines financial instruments driving climate resilience. His policy impact extends through advisory roles including the Scottish Government First Minister's Net Zero Investor Panel (2023) and Green Heat Finance Taskforce (2022-present), though his part-time academic status precludes PhD supervision. Cochran maintains strong institutional ties through B-CaSS and Changeworks, where he leads consultancy initiatives translating climate finance research into decarbonisation pathways for public and private sector clients.