AIQ: The Climate Edition

More than 40 years since a senior NASA scientist told US Congress of concerns about human activities disrupting the climate, experts are warning of an impending climate catastrophe and the financial sector is wrestling with the implications.

As active investors step up their engagement efforts on the climate crisis, discussions need to be at the CEO rather than board level, argues David Cumming.

Psychological barriers can prevent people from acting to avert the climate threat, even when they recognise the problem. So how can we best engage individuals, companies and communities in the quest for solutions?

Until recently, many investors made light of dire warnings of the risks posed by assets becoming “stranded” by climate change. However, as the threat becomes reality, fears are mounting that whole industries could be wiped out.

With governments urged to do more to tackle climate change, carbon taxes are being touted as a politically expedient solution.

Poor land management contributes to rising global temperatures. But solutions are emerging as new technologies improve farming efficiency and consumers shift towards climate-friendly diets.

As the challenges posed by climate change continue to loom large, due attention should be given to oceans, not just the solid ground under our feet and the air we breathe.

Despite deafening calls for countries and companies to step up to fight the climate crisis, research suggests individuals – especially in the developed world – could also make a massive difference if they committed to getting by with less. But will they?

Big data is heralded as the answer to almost every problem, so why not the climate crisis?

As the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. Despite lingering public anxiety around safety, there are growing calls for the world to look again at nuclear power as part of the solution to the climate crisis.

Despite the increasing clamour for a global ‘Green New Deal’, Steve Waygood explains why a complementary International Panel on Climate Finance (IPCF) is also needed if we are to rise to the challenges ahead.

Over 100 billion people have walked the planet, making a gigantic stamp on the Earth. Around three quarters of the land and around two-thirds of the marine environment have been significantly altered by humans, impacting the carbon cycle and changing the prospects for many species.

Professor Dieter Helm has written extensively on climate change, most recently in Green and Prosperous Land: A Blueprint for Rescuing the British Countryside (2019), and assisted the European Commission in preparing its Energy Roadmap 2050 initiative. Here, he discusses the links between energy, infrastructure, regulation and the environment.

The former Aviva CEO talks to AIQ about how the insurance industry is working to assess and manage the catastrophic risks of climate change.

With governments under mounting pressure to decarbonise their electricity networks, US author and activist Michael Shellenberger argues nuclear energy has a vital role to play.

Anne Simpson leads the environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration programme at CalPERS, the largest US public pension fund, with total assets of $401 billion. Here, Simpson discusses the responsibility of companies in fostering sustainable growth.

Professor Geoffrey Beattie is an academic psychologist, writer and broadcaster. He coauthored The Psychology of Climate Change (2019) with Laura McGuire. Here, he discusses the psychological barriers to climate action and how they might be overcome.

Dr Friederike Otto’s work – which considers whether human activities are increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events – has wide-ranging implications, from environmental damage claims to post-disaster reconstruction.

As CEO of the United Nations-backed PRI, Fiona Reynolds heads the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. She discusses how capital markets can contribute to the green-energy transition; the relative responsibilities of developed and emerging economies; and the PRI’s priorities for 2020 and beyond.

Ken Alex, former adviser to Californian governor Jerry Brown, discusses US policy, carbon capture and storage and the need for regulation to combat the effects of climate change.

Andrew Medhurst, a member of Extinction Rebellion (XR), outlines the group’s three demands of policymakers and argues the private sector should be doing more to respond to the climate crisis.

The climate crisis will create winners and losers. As portfolio manager Françoise Cespedes explains, companies will have to adjust to changing physical conditions and new consumer expectations in a lower-carbon world.

The Harvard academic and bestselling author talks to AIQ about the power of social conformity and what behavioural economics can teach us about tackling climate change.