October 6, 2025 –
The University of Manitoba is proud to present Dr. Qi as the recipient of the Social Sciences' Renowned Paper Award for his doctoral dissertation, “Three Essays on Climate Finance and International Finance.” The award recognizes doctoral studies exploring how state-of-the-art machine learning models can improve predictability of international corporate bond returns, how climate change affects financial markets around the world, and how information on climate risk can enhance financial decisions. On October 8th, we mark the World Financial Planning Day, a suitable background to celebrate Dr.Q's awards and research.
We asked Dr. Qi to learn more about what the award means to him and his research journey.
Can you easily explain your paper research in plain language for readers who may not be experts in your field?
In my paper, I explore how climate change affects financial markets and how to use advanced data techniques such as machine learning to better understand and predict corporate bond returns. It also studies how banks and investors respond to climate risks and how companies' disclosures of these risks affect financial decisions.
What inspired you to focus on this particular research topic?
I was inspired by the increasing urgency of climate change and its economic impacts, and the rapid development of AI in recent years. I wanted to understand how climate risk translates into financial risk, how better information and transparency can help markets make smarter decisions, and how advanced machine learning tools can improve predictability of asset returns.
What was the most challenging aspect of your research?
One of the biggest challenges was to collaborate with complex international financial data and integrate climate risk measurements in a meaningful way. Careful work and extensive verification were required to ensure that the model accurately captured both financial and climate-related factors. Another challenge was learning to effectively use advanced and often complex machine learning models.
Have you encountered any unexpected discoveries or surprises along the way?
yes. For example, in the US, we found that if companies voluntarily disclose more climate risk information and follow the SEC climate risk disclosure guidance, and if companies voluntarily disclose it, they reduce borrowing costs for high-risk companies. This underscores the importance of targeted climate risk disclosure for financial decision-making and risk management. Furthermore, the predictive performance of machine learning models has decreased significantly following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, suggesting structural changes in the information of traditional bond characteristics.
Why is your research important and how does it affect your field and society as a whole?
My research helps to better understand the economic risks posed by climate change and provide valuable insights to investors, banks and policymakers. By increasing risk assessment and transparency, we can contribute to a more resilient financial system and support decision-making that explains both economic and environmental factors. Furthermore, my work on machine learning sheds light on how advanced models improve predictability of returns, which have important implications for investment strategies.
“I am truly honored to receive the distinguished paper award in social sciences from the University of Manitoba. I would like to thank my PhD, especially Dr. Raylou, for my special valuable guidance, said Dr. Qi, who was announced as one of the UMDD awards of the year.
Dr. Qi's advisor, Dr. Leil of the Ministry of Accounting and Finance said, “I am truly pleased to see Dr. Zhen Qi receive a distinguished paper award in the social sciences. Zhen's curiosity, dedication and integrity, along with his outstanding research, not only has he been appointed to outstanding research, but he has not only provided collaborative academics, but also provided outstanding research.
“This is a prominent example of research at the forefront of finance, along with an additional layer of climate science that will widen the impact of this work,” said Dr. Kelly Maine, dean of graduate and postdoc studies. “Congratulations to Dr. Qi on this well-earned perception of his important and timely research.”
