Podcast
Climate Risk Podcast
Hosted by GARP · EN
Hello and welcome to GARP's Climate Risk Podcast series, where we will be investigating how climate change is impacting the world of business and finance and what this means for risk management.
Through the course of this series we will be bringing you insights from those working at the cutting edge of climate change. We will be joined by regulators, business leaders and risk practitioners who will help us build up a holistic view of the risks and opportunities that climate change poses and explore how this might affect you in your day to day work.
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Investor Climate Action: What Finance Can and Can't Achieve
3w ago00:41:18Tap to summarizeHear from Prof. Tom Gosling, Director of the Initiative in Sustainable Finance at the London School of Economics (LSE), as we examine the limits of investor-led climate action, the realities of stewardship and engagement, and why finance may need a more pragmatic approach to the transition. Over recent years, investors have been asked to play a central role in driving the net zero transition. Through targets, stewardship, portfolio commitments and engagement, the idea was that finance could help push the real economy towards decarbonization. But what if that framing overstates what investors can realistically achieve? If real-world incentives are still misaligned, and if policy remains the primary driver of economic change, then investor climate action may need to become more focused, more realistic, and more honest about its limits. That's why this episode will explore: Why the current model of investor climate action has run into difficulty, particularly around targets and portfolio emissions; What more effective stewardship might look like when it focuses on achievable, real-world impact rather than headline commitments; And why asset owners, asset managers and risk professionals may need to rethink their roles as climate risk becomes more politically contested and physically material. ---------------- To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Centre: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com ------------------ Today's Speaker Professor Tom Gosling is Director of the Initiative in Sustainable Finance at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is also a member of the Financial Conduct Authority's Sustainable Finance Advisory Committee. With more than 20 years' experience as a board adviser, including as a senior Partner at PwC where he established and led the firm's executive pay practice, he brings deep expertise across corporate governance, responsible investing, investor stewardship and sustainable finance.
Transcribe →
The Electro-Tech Revolution: Why the Energy Transition Is Happening Faster Than You Think
May 700:28:34Tap to summarizeHear from Kingsmill Bond, Senior Energy Strategist at Ember, as we explore why renewables and electrification are reshaping the global energy system faster than many realise. We talk a great deal on this podcast about the risks and the policy challenges of the climate transition. But if that transition is actually going to happen — and happen at the speed that the science demands — there is something that has to sit at its very centre. Not the frameworks, not the disclosure requirements, not the net zero targets. The actual physical transformation of how we generate and use energy. The growth of renewables. The electrification of the things we use every day: our cars, our heating, our industry. Without that, everything else is commentary. So where do things actually stand? How fast is the transition really moving? What does the data tell us that the mainstream forecasts might have overlooked? And in a world of geopolitical turbulence, rising energy security concerns, and significant political headwinds, what are the barriers still standing between where we are and where we need to get to? This episode attempts to answer those questions. We'll be covering: Why flows matter more than stocks — and what the data tells us about how fast the transition is really moving The geopolitical energy shocks of the 2020s, what makes them different from the 1970s, and why this time we actually have solutions And what all of this means practically for risk professionals trying to get ahead of the transition rather than simply react to it ---------------- To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Centre: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com ------------------ Today's Speaker Kingsmill Bond is Senior Energy Strategist at Ember, an open data think tank that has been tracking the growth of renewable energy and its impact on the global electricity system. Kingsmill spent years as a financial analyst and strategist at some of the world's leading investment banks before making the transition to energy. This has seen him working at Carbon Tracker and the Rocky Mountain Institute before his move to Ember.
Transcribe →
The Case for Adaptation: Heat Stress and the Built Environment
Apr 1600:32:22Tap to summarizeHear from Richard Flemmings, founder and CEO of Map Impact, as we explore why "dry perils" such as heat, drought and wildfire are emerging as critical climate risks for real estate and financial decision-making. When climate risks are discussed, the focus often falls on what we might call "wet perils": things like flooding, storms, and coastal erosion. These risks are well studied, widely modelled, and increasingly embedded in financial decision-making. But another category of hazards is emerging: "dry perils" such as heat stress, drought, and wildfire, which are often less visible, hard to quantify, and in many cases still underestimated. Understanding these risks requires looking closely at the landscape itself: how land is used, how heat is retained, and how nature can either amplify or mitigate climate hazards. And when you do that, some unexpected interactions between the built environment and a changing climate start to emerge. That's why this episode explores: Why dry perils have been underestimated, and why they are becoming increasingly important for financial risk management; How real-world case studies reveal unanticipated consequences of climate risk and adaptation decisions; And how nature-based solutions, from urban greening to landscape-scale interventions, can help build resilience across portfolios and communities. ---------------- To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr To see more of our resources on climate and nature risk, visit GARP's Risk Insights: https://www.garp.org/risk-insights If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com ------------------ Today's Speaker Richard Flemmings is founder and CEO of Map Impact, a climate and environmental risk analytics firm providing bottom-up analysis of dry-perils and biodiversity. With more than 20 years' experience applying satellite earth observation and geospatial technologies across government, engineering, and NGO clients, he specializes in translating environmental data into practical insights for housing, resilience building, and climate adaptation.
Transcribe →
Risk as an Enabler: How Development Banks Build Climate Resilience
Mar 2600:29:36Tap to summarizeHear from Søren Elbech, Chief Risk Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank, as we explore how development banks use risk to support countries facing climate and other systemic challenges. When we think about risk in banking, the focus is often on managing exposures, pricing credit, allocating capital, and ensuring resilience. But what happens when the mission of a bank is not just to manage risk, but to actively take it on in order to improve lives? In that context, risk becomes something to be deployed — carefully, deliberately, and often in parts of the world where private markets are unwilling or unable to go. This is the role that development banks are designed to play. And increasingly, it means engaging directly with systemic risks like climate change, which shape both economic stability and the resilience of communities. That's why this episode explores: How a development bank's model differs fundamentally from a commercial bank, and how mechanisms like preferred creditor status enable lending in higher-risk environments; What it means to treat risk as an enabler; And how innovative financial structures, from debt-for-nature swaps to climate-linked bonds, can help countries build resilience to climate and other systemic risks. ---------------- To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Centre: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com ------------------ Speaker's Bio Søren Elbech is Chief Risk Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), a mission-driven institution focused on improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. With more than 30 years' experience across global capital markets and development finance — including senior roles at J.P. Morgan and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — he brings deep expertise in both international finance and mission-led risk management.
Transcribe →
A Different Kind of Bank: How to Embed Impact in Finance
Mar 500:30:48Tap to summarizeHear from Sian Williams, Chief Risk Officer at Triodos Bank UK, as we examine how values-led banking can generate positive impact for people, planet and the financial system. When we think about sustainable finance, the conversation often revolves around targets, disclosures and voluntary alliances. But what happens when sustainability is not an add-on, but the foundation of a bank's entire business model? If sustainability is the starting point, lending decisions inevitably look different, and more complex. Not everything can be reduced to a model. Challenging trade-offs between risk, return and impact emerge. And judgment, values and governance play a much larger role in determining which activities are financed, and which are not. In this episode, we explore: The real-world positive impact that a mission-driven bank can generate for communities, climate and nature; How balancing risk, return and impact shapes lending decisions in practice, and what that means for the bank's governance and internal decision-making; And whether the model of values-led banking is truly scalable — or whether its greatest influence lies in demonstrating what is possible for the wider financial system. ---------------- To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Centre: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com ------------------ Today's Speaker Sian Williams is Chief Risk Officer at Triodos Bank UK, a mission-driven institution that seeks to balance profit with people and planet. With more than 30 years' experience in finance, including senior risk and compliance roles at Lloyds Bank, and as a banking supervisor at the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority, she brings deep expertise across traditional banking, mission-driven finance and regulation.
Transcribe →
Protecting the Beta: Why Systemic Risk Now Shapes Investment Returns
Feb 1200:29:04Tap to summarizeHear from Julie Calkins, Director of Sustainability Strategy at Generation Investment Management, as we explore how interconnected risks spanning climate, nature, inequality and AI challenge traditional approaches to risk and return. In investing, we spend a lot of time debating alpha — what gives one portfolio an edge over another. But increasingly, the bigger question is about beta, and the underlying conditions that make any returns possible in the first place. And here we can think about a stable climate, nature as infrastructure and even social cohesion and functioning institutions. Because when those foundations erode, risk stops looking like a set of isolated exposures, and starts to look like something deeper – perhaps systemic instability, cascading impacts, and rising uncertainty that no single firm can diversify away. That's why in this episode we explore: · Why some investors are starting to think more seriously about "protecting the beta", and what that means for portfolio risk and long-term resilience; · How nature risk, climate risk, and inequality interact — with inequality not only as an outcome of shocks, but as a potential driver of fragility and political instability; · And the tools that can help risk professionals make complex, interconnected risks more legible from scenario modelling to frameworks that build a shared language inside organisations. ---------------- To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Centre: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com ------------------ Speaker's Bio Julie Calkins, Director of Sustainability Strategy at Generation Investment Management Julie Calkins serves as the Director of Sustainability Strategy at Generation Investment Management since April 2022. Previously, Calkins operated as an Advisor for an independent consultancy firm, CDAX, managing projects for notable clients including the US Climate Alliance Partnership and OECD Global Science Forum from January 2017 to April 2022. Prior roles include Head of Climate Risk and Adaptation at Climate-KIC, a Research and Policy Fellow at Wellcome Trust, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Leeds/National Centre for Atmospheric Science. Calkins has also worked as a Monitoring Scientist for NOAA and an Antarctic Scientist for the US Antarctic Program. Academic credentials include a PhD in Environmental Science and Health from the University of York and an MS in Geochemistry from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. With a background spanning environmental science, disaster risk, and global policy, Julie brings a rare systems-level perspective to sustainable investing.
Transcribe →
What We Learned About Climate and Nature Risk in 2025
Jan 2200:42:19Tap to summarizeHear from Jo Paisley and Maxine Nelson of the GARP Risk Institute as they look back on key learnings from the past year of the Climate Risk Podcast. As we head into 2026, the GARP Climate Risk Podcast kicks off the new year with a retrospective on the past 12 months, reviewing the key themes and insights that emerged during 2025's podcasts. After 6 years of hosting the podcast, this might be the most wide-ranging conversation so far – from how one should adjust probability of default for climate risk, to the risk factors that might lead to the collapse of society. To make things a bit more manageable, this retrospective has been split into three main areas of focus: First, what did we learn about physical risks, both from nature loss and climate change? Second, what did we learn about the transition to net zero? And third, what lessons were there for firms – either in risk management or business more generally? We also hear from our guests on advice they have specifically for risk professionals. To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Centre: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links to featured episodes: Sebastian Leape - The CSRD Effect: How Regulation is Elevating Nature Risk Eva Zabey - Beyond Climate: A Risk Professionals' Guide to the Biodiversity COPs Prof. Aled Jones - Flawed Models, Fragile Systems: The Risks in Energy & Food Policy Dr. Levke Caesar - Nine Limits, Six Breached: The Planetary Boundaries Crisis Explained Alyssa Gilbert - How to Make an Impact: Secrets to Climate Startup Success Laurie Laybourn - Beyond 1.5°C: How to Think About Our New Climate Reality Stephanie Race - Why Food System Disruption Is the New Normal Rowan Douglas - Resilience and Retreat: What Insurability Tells Us About Climate Risk Dr. Ajay Gambhir - Navigating Systemic Risk in the Age of Polycrisis Hirotaka Hideshima - From Basel to Biodiversity: An Ex-Central Banker's Take on Nature Risk Prof. Tim Lenton OBE - Positive Tipping Points: How to Fix the Climate Crisis Judson Berkey - Embedding Nature Risk: Insights from a Senior Banking Professional Dr. Luke Kemp - Societal Collapse in a Warming World: A Risk Manager's Lens Today's Speakers Jo Paisley is President of the GARP Risk Institute, the thought leadership arm of GARP. Set up in early 2018, the Institute works across all risk disciplines, with Jo's focus to date on climate- and nature-related risk management and scenario analysis, stress testing and operational resilience. Her career began at the Bank of England where she worked in a variety of roles across macroeconomics, statistics, supervision and risk. Her last role was as a Director of the Supervisory Risk Specialists Division within the Prudential Regulation Authority, where she was heavily involved in the design and execution of the UK's first concurrent stress test in 2014. She left the Bank in 2015 and joined HSBC as their Global Head of Stress Testing. She has also worked as an independent stress testing consultant, advising firms on how to get the most value out of stress testing. Dr. Maxine Nelson is a Senior Vice President at the GARP Risk Institute, GARP's research and thought leadership arm, where she focusses on climate- and nature-related financial risk management. She has extensive experience in risk, capital and regulation gained from a wide-ranging variety of roles, including Global Head of Wholesale Risk Analytics and Head of Capital Planning at HSBC, significantly expanding counterparty credit risk management at the UK Financial Services Authority during the last financial crisis, leading the credit risk team at KPMG London, senior credit risk consultant at Oliver Wyman, and embedding operational risk analytics globally at National Australia Bank. Maxine has a degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD about how best to apply probability theory to real world problems.
Transcribe →
Societal Collapse in a Warming World: A Risk Manager's Lens
Dec 1100:40:32Tap to summarizeHear from Dr. Luke Kemp of the Center for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, as we dive into the risk factors for societal collapse in both the past and future. When risk professionals talk about systemic risk, we usually mean markets, institutions, and interconnected exposures. But zoom out far enough, and there's a bigger question underneath it all: what makes an entire society resilient – or vulnerable – to collapse? That's why in this episode, we explore the history and future of societal collapse through a risk lens: looking at how complex systems fail, how multiple threats compound, and the early warning signs of collapse. We discuss: · What societal collapse actually means in practice, and why it's rarely a single event, but a buildup of stresses and cascading failures; · How inequality amplifies fragility, weakening trust, institutions, and the capacity to respond when shocks hit; · And what a real-world "collapse risk dashboard" might look like for societies. To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from the discussion: Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/321192/goliaths-curse-by-kemp-luke/9780241741238 Speaker's Bio Dr. Luke Kemp, Research Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge Luke researches the end of the world. He is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge. He has advised and led foresight studies for multiple international organisations, including the WHO and Convention on Biological Diversity. His work has been covered by media outlets such as the BBC, the New York Times, and the New Yorker. He is the author of the bestselling book Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse.
Transcribe →
Embedding Nature Risk: Insights from a Senior Banking Professional
Nov 1300:38:38Tap to summarizeHear from Judson Berkey, Managing Director in the Chief Sustainability Office at UBS, as we learn first-hand how banks are approaching nature risk. Within finance, nature is usually treated as background: important, but invisible. However, that is beginning to change. New frameworks, regulations, and expectations are emerging worldwide, and many firms are starting to measure their impacts and dependencies on nature. In this episode, we explore how that shift is happening from the perspective of someone inside one of the world's largest banks. We discuss: Which lessons from climate disclosure apply to nature, and which do not; Why some regulatory approaches to ESG-type topics are more effective than others; and The importance of not waiting for perfect data before taking action. To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Speaker's Bio Judson Berkey, Managing Director, Chief Sustainability Office, UBS Judson is a Managing Director in the Chief Sustainability Office at UBS based in Zurich where he has worked since 2003 on global risk, regulatory and compliance topics. He currently focuses on sustainable finance policy and regulation including engagement with policymakers and standard setters. He also leads UBS work on nature. He graduated from Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia and is on the board of ECOFACT. He currently chairs the Institute of International Finance Sustainable Finance Working Group and represents UBS on the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero Steering Group.
Transcribe →
Positive Tipping Points: How to Fix the Climate Crisis
Oct 2300:36:14Tap to summarizeHear from Prof. Tim Lenton OBE, as we explore the potential of positive tipping points in accelerating the transition to a net-zero economy. What happens when the conversation about climate change shifts from avoiding disaster to unlocking positive change? Suddenly, it's not just about risk - it's about momentum. Because while some systems may be close to dangerous tipping points, others – like clean energy, electric transport, and sustainable food – are tipping in the right direction. That's why in this episode, we explore how to accelerate those positive shifts, including: · How smart policies can trigger widespread, self-reinforcing change across economies and societies; · Why leveraging social norms and human behavior is just as critical as investing in technology; · And what it takes to create the tipping points that move us toward a stable climate, not away from one. To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today's discussion: Tim's previous podcast appearance - https://www.garp.org/podcast/complexities-climate-risk-cr-201102 Positive Tipping Points: How to Fix the Climate Crisis - https://academic.oup.com/book/60007 Global Tipping Points Report 2025 - https://global-tipping-points.org/ Speaker's Bio Prof. Tim Lenton OBE, Founding Director, Global Systems Institute, and Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science, University of Exeter Tim is the founding Director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter and Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science. He has more than 25 years research experience, focused on modelling of the biosphere, climate, biogeochemical cycles, and associated tipping points. Tim is renowned for his work identifying climate tipping points, which informed the setting of the 1.5C climate target, associated net zero targets, and nationally determined contributions. Tim works with policymakers and businesses helping them assess the risks of climate change and nature loss and highlighting the opportunities for 'positive tipping points' that can accelerate change towards net zero. In 2023, Professor Lenton led a team of more than 200 people from over 90 organisations in 26 countries to produce an authoritative assessment of the risks and opportunities of both negative and positive tipping points in the Earth system and society. The 'Global Tipping Points Report' produced in partnership with Bezos Earth Fund was published at COP28.
Transcribe →