Climate Proofers

Catastrophe (or 'cat') models are essential tools for estimating losses from natural disasters. With the rise of climate risk management as a discipline in its own right, efforts are underway to harness these tools to guess the effects of human-induced warming on hurricanes, floods, storms, and other catastrophes.

However, in the rush to develop effective climate risk analytics, we may be trying to force cat models to do things they weren't designed to – and promoting a flawed way of thinking about the link between climate change and financial loss in the bargain.

Thomas Mortlock, from reinsurance broker and risk solutions company Aon, joins Climate Proofers to explain what cat models can and can't do, unpack the relationship between climate risk and insured losses, and get into the knotty problem of slow-onset events, like sea-level rise.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

Kathryn Brown is a true climate adaptation veteran. For the last three years, she's been tackling climate change impacts with The Wildlife Trusts, a federation of UK charities focused on making a positive difference to wildlife and future generations.

Prior to this role, she served nine years with the UK Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent body that advises the UK government on its climate actions and researches the country's preparedness for climate shocks.

Kathryn talks about the role of climate adaptation in wildlife habitat conservation, the difficult trade-offs involved when it comes to preserving ecosystems, and her experiences working as Head of Adaptation at the CCC.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

Bill Green is a veteran infrastructure investor, one who understands that we need to change our approach to building (and financing) the basic facilities and systems that undergird our daily lives in response to rising climate impacts.

As Managing Partner at Climate Adaptive Infrastructure, a fund dedicated to climate resilient, low-carbon projects, Bill and his team have pioneered a unique methodology for assessing potential investments based on their ability to withstand the 'triple threat' posed by climate change.

In this episode of Climate Proofers, Bill takes us through the fund's process, talks about some of his recent investments, and offers his take on the current state-of-play in climate-aware infrastructure investment.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

Extreme heat wrecks lives and livelihoods throughout the Global South. Women are especially vulnerable to high temperatures because of an array of physiological, cultural, and economic factors – but also find it harder to access the resources needed to increase their resilience to this peril.

Climate Resilience For All is a non-profit dedicated to the protection of women and vulnerable communities from extreme heat and all its impacts. Their tagline is: "When women are climate resilient, we will all be climate resilient," reflecting a belief that by supporting women against heat impacts we can strengthen communities as a whole.

Kathy Baughman McLeod, the CEO of Climate Resilience For All, joins today's episode to talk about how the group came about, the importance of promoting heat resilience among women, and what financial solutions are proving effective at supporting vulnerable populations.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

Michael Berkowitz is spreading the gospel of climate resilience across academic disciplines, communities, and industries.

As Executive Director of the Climate Resilience Academy at the University of Miami, he's responsible for driving problem-driven research and education on climate adaptation and resilience and training the next generation of climate proofers.

In this episode, he talks about the idea of "resilience dividends" — the spillover benefits that come from investing in resilience — and the ways in which they can be captured and monetized by private and public actors.

He also explores why Miami has emerged as a hub for climate resilience companies and takes us through some of the adaptation innovations being pioneered in southern Florida.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

There are few champions of the adaptation economy with a resume like Jay Koh. The storied investor racked up years in the financial industry before serving as Chief Investment Strategist at what is now the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

Koh now leads The Lightsmith Group, a global investment platform laser-focused on opportunities in the emerging adaptation economy. The private equity firm boasts a range of investments in climate-proofing technologies covering agriculture, wildfire, water, and more.

He sits down with Louie to talk about how the adaptation investment landscape has transformed in recent years, to describe Lightsmith's investment thesis, and explain why investing in climate adaptation is a far surer bet than wagering on interest rates, inflation – and even Taylor Swift's next boyfriend!

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Technology is crucial in the effort to prepare for, and protect from, climate risks. However, we're still in the early stages of figuring out how to think about climate adaptation technology (or 'CAT') as an investment category – and how to direct early-stage capital into this vital space.

John Robinson, a technology investor with Mazarine Ventures, joins this week's Climate Proofers to talk about his research into CAT, and go over the findings of Mazarine's surveys of early-stage investors on this crucial theme.

Louie and John also discuss water-related climate adaptation tech, one of the hottest CAT subcategories, and dive into the market initiatives, public policies, and regulatory efforts that could spur greater engagement by VCs in climate-proofing activities.

Learn more about Mazarine Ventures at www.mazarineventures.com

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

Africa is a magnet for climate risks – from floods to droughts to storms like Tropical Cyclone Freddy, which displaced half a million people in Malawi last year.

However, the continent's vulnerability has also made it a hotbed of climate adaptation. Thousands are joining (or starting) businesses to climate-proof the continent – and investors are taking note.

In this week's episode, Louie is joined by Maëlis Carraro, managing partner at The Catalyst Fund, a pre-seed VC fund and accelerator that supports African climate adaptation startups. They discuss how Catalyst started, the importance of adaptation-focused funds, and what startups are making waves throughout the African continent.

They also get into the landscape for blended finance and what needs to be done to crowd more private capital into climate adaptation companies.

Learn more about The Catalyst Fund at www.thecatalystfund.com.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

US home insurers suffered their worst underwriting loss this century in 2023, as claims came pouring in for storms, floods, wildfires, and more.

Inflation and the crowding of high-risk areas contributed to the red ink, but extreme weather events were also a factor. These are due to become more frequent and severe because of climate change.

Nancy Watkins specializes in climate resilience, insurtech and catastrophic property risk at Milliman, the actuarial consultancy. She joins Climate Proofers to discuss the headwinds facing the US insurance market and the resilience measures that individuals, communities, and public authorities could take to ease the emerging affordability and availability crisis.

We also examine the role of catastrophe (or 'cat') models in the insurance industry, and their importance in a climate-transformed world.

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Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]

In May, climate proofers from across the world gathered in New York for Adapt Unbound USA, a pioneering conference on the emerging adaptation economy.

Experts from tech, finance, and policy held forth on topics ranging from how to prepare cities for climate change to building industry-wide collaborations.

Louie was tapped to moderate the last panel of the day on closing the adaptation capital gap, with adaptation veterans Emilie Mazzacurati (Tailwind Climate), Maëlis Carraro (Catalyst Fund), Anish Patel (Yamaha Motor Ventures), and Sonam Velani (Streetlife Ventures).

Thanks to the good folk at Unbound Summits, this week's podcast features a recording of that panel, so you can hear direct from these big hitters on what's behind the adaptation finance gap and how to close it.

An edited transcript of the panel is also available here for those who prefer to read.

Sign up to climateproof.news for a twice-weekly dose of climate adaptation & resilience news and insights.

Questions? Comments? Email Louie at [email protected]