AIQ: The Climate Interviews

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.