A new Masters unit will give Monash students grounding in climate change mitigation including the trading of carbon credits under the Federal Government's proposed emissions trading scheme.

The 13-week unit, the first of its kind in Australia, was designed by the Department of Accounting and Finance in the Faculty of Business and Economics, and will start in first semester 2010.

It will provide 40 students with the opportunity to learn about carbon pricing and the business and economic aspects of climate change from a cross-disciplinary perspective including environmental science, regulatory issues, economics, market behaviour and accounting.

Classes will be held exclusively in the department's treasury dealing room to simulate and demonstrate various aspects of market behaviour and specially-developed software will assist students in understanding market behaviour and how it relates to carbon pricing.

Topics covered will include climate change, Australian policy options, the Kyoto Protocol, and the likely short and long-term impact of the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on business, communities and individuals.

Professor Madhu Veeraraghavan said the unit would also be of interest to students from other faculties of the university.

"This unit is a great opportunity for postgraduate students to become leaders in understanding how a carbon emissions trading scheme will work from an operational sense and what impact it will have on various sectors," Professor Veeraraghavan said.

"It will appeal not only to students of accounting and finance but also to students from the arts, environmental sciences and engineering who will get to hear from Monash experts in the field as well as industry leaders including energy users like AGL."

For more information on the unit and the application process email Professor Veeraraghavan on madhu.veeraraghavan@buseco.monash.edu.au

The department will also promote and timetable the unit in a way to attract industry participants to enrol.