Climate Proofers

Avinash Persaud isn't afraid to tell the hard truths on adaptation finance.

At a conference in Brasilia last month, the Special Advisor on Climate Risks to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) told delegates that trillions of dollars of private money for adaptation were unlikely to materialize, and that attention should be turned instead to maximizing the finance provided by multilateral development banks (MDBs).

In today's episode, Avinash lays out his thinking on scaling adaptation finance using extra-long-term MDB loans, complete with flexible conditions — like climate-resilient debt clauses — that make it easier for developing countries to take on debt for climate-proofing purposes.

He also details innovative donor-backed financing models that reward countries for successfully completing resilience projects, a new spin on the blended finance transactions that are taking adaptation-world by storm.

Whether you're an investor, policymaker, or climate advocate, this episode has something for you.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected].

Supply chains are the "veins of the economy", says Sadie Frank, Co-Founder of N4EA, a startup working to make these more resilient to escalating climate risks. Like veins in the human body, they are essential — but also fragile.

In today's episode, Sadie talks about the growing vulnerabilities in global supply chains, and shares how N4EA uses data, predictive analytics, and geospatial intelligence to help businesses anticipate and manage these risks before they spiral out of control.

Louie and Sadie then discuss the need for greater collaboration between companies on supply chain resilience, the importance of a systems-thinking approach to climatic and extreme weather challenges, and how shifts in trade relationships and political instability are intertwined with climate-related risks.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected].

New York is a truly world-leading city. Finance, tech, education — the Big Apple has it all, and attracts talent from across the globe because of its well-earned status as the place where You Can Make It.

It now aspires to become the global epicenter for climate solutions, too. In this episode Stephen Hammer, CEO of the New York Climate Exchange, talks to Louie about this new cross-sector, multi-stakeholder center— intended to become the preeminent hub for climate mitigation and adaptation R&D in the world, not only when it comes to tech, but as it relates to public policy, education, and environmental justice, too. Just last week, the Exchange unveiled new renderings of the US$700mn, 400,000-square foot campus on Governors Island in New York Harbor that will be its home from 2029.

Stephen shares the Exchange's vision for transforming Governors Island and pushing the boundaries of climate innovation. He also touches on how the Exchange could contribute to New York's economic engine and act as another generator of jobs, expertise, and high-tech startups.

There's also a discussion on harnessing the "shiny new object" of AI for climate solutions, and as a way to attract talent into the climate space.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected].

How can philanthropy bridge the massive funding gap in climate adaptation?

In this episode, Clare Ballantine, Head of the Howden Foundation, and Isona Shibata, Head of International Programs at Ashden, unpack the role of philanthropic capital in building resilience for climate-vulnerable communities in the Global South.

They discuss the urgency of funding locally-led adaptation solutions, the power of anticipatory action, and how smart financial innovations — like micro parametric insurance — are protecting lives and livelihoods. Plus, a candid look at the challenges of attracting investment to adaptation and why philanthropy must embrace a venture capital mindset to make a difference.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected].

Everyone who's anyone in climate knows David Carlin.

David has been at the forefront of climate risk management and disclosure since the first rush of industry- and UN-led initiatives swept across the financial sector in the run-up to COP26.

Over many years working with the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), he had a front row seat to how banks and institutional investors wrestled with the implications of climate change on their businesses and the wider economy.

Now, he's leading his own global consultancy focused on sustainability challenges: D. A. Carlin & Company. Together with his team, David is helping central banks, financial institutions, and entire governments get to grips with climate risk management and disclosure.

In this episode of Climate Proofers, David sits down with Louie to offer his candid assessment of the state of climate-related financial disclosures, and explain why he thinks mandated reporting alone isn't enough to drive essential action on adaptation and resilience.

He then digs into the evolving climate-financial regulatory landscape in light of the Trump administration's harsh attitude towards environmental programs and Europe's wide-ranging effort to streamline its own sustainability rules.

Beyond regulation, David shares his thoughts on market-driven shifts in the climate risk landscape, and his experiences working with climate risk startups including Climate X and Climate Aligned, offering his perspective on what makes for a successful company in this rapidly growing space.

Check out David's Sustainability Digest HERE.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

What makes a company an "adaptation play?"

It's a question Chris Goolgasian, Director of Climate Research and portfolio manager at the $1.2trn investment company Wellington Management, has devoted himself to in recent years.

Chris oversees an investment strategy focused on stocks that should thrive as the world works to become more climate resilient — particularly those from companies that are addressing key climate risks: heat, drought, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, water scarcity, and sea level rise.

In this episode, he describes Wellington's approach to adaptation investment, talks about the challenges distinguishing signal from noise when it comes to picking adaptation stocks, and the similarities and differences relative to climate transition investing.

Chris then also shares some of his long-term predictions for climate-driven shifts in the economy, from the rise of subsidized air conditioning to the future pricing of water. These mega-trends could make, or break, entire sectors of the economy. Now's the time to get wise to them.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

How can video games drive climate resilience? Could Minecraft and Fortnite teach kids (and adults) about adapting to extreme temperatures and other punishing climate risks?

Jorge Gastelumendi, Senior Director at the Atlantic Council's Climate Resilience Center, certainly thinks so. He joins Climate Proofers to talk about the newly renamed center, which has an exciting mission to reach one billion people with resilience solutions.

Sounds hard, right? Jorge breaks down the three strategic pillars of the center, and its work so far engaging with the video games industry and promoting Chief Heat Officers around the world.

He also shares his observations of a project close to his heart — Peru's National Carbon Registry — explaining how this sort of initiative can help restore credibility and integrity to carbon markets, which have potential to channel millions of dollars into adaptation and mitigation projects.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

While the Los Angeles fires continue to rage, the debate on what should be done — and indeed what can be done — to prepare and protect communities from these kinds of infernos is heating up.

The multiple blazes are also highlighting the frightening potential for fire risk to rip through the financial system, wrecking homeowners, insurers, and government budgets in the process.

In today's episode, Frank Frievalt, Director of the Wildland-Urban Interface FIRE Institute at Cal Poly, discusses the changing nature of wildfires and urban conflagrations under climate change, and the challenges mitigating their physical and financial risks.

Frank shares his professional insights on how the warming climate is contributing to fiercer fires and the difficulties motivating wildfire risk mitigation among vulnerable communities.

He also offers insights on the transmission mechanisms through which growing wildfire risks could spark a new financial crisis.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

There's one thing all adaptation professionals agree on — we need more climate data. And better climate data. And climate data people can trust.

But needing is one thing. Getting is another.

Julia Kumari Drapkin is pioneering a new way of collecting and analyzing climate risk data with her company ISeeChange. The startup gathers crowdsourced images and data from residents directly impacted by floods, storms, heat waves and the like, and transforms the pixels and bits into actionable information with its AI-powered software.

In this episode, she explains how this fusion of human- and AI-powered data yields insights that can inform the development of climate-resilient infrastructure and help finetune local climate risk responses.

Julia also opines on the importance of community engagement when it comes to climate-proofing neighborhoods, and how to build trust in climate risk communications.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

Climate adaptation technology isn't getting a lot of love from markets right now.

Extreme weather shocks may be on track to inflict some US$560bn or so of losses on listed companies every year by 2035, but so far very little early investor money is going into adaptation and resilience (A&R) solutions.

That's according to new analysis by Tailwind Climate, an adaptation-focused advisory and investment firm, which last week released a 112-page playbook on A&R tech and financing.

In this episode of Climate Proofers, Emilie Mazzacurati — Tailwind's Co-Founder — joins to discuss the playbook's contents, and some of its findings on government, consumer, and corporate spending on climate-proofing goods and activities.

She also shares what A&R solutions have got her excited, and ideas on how to unlock many more millions of dollars for startups and innovations in this space.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]