Financial Climate
Join host Alex Roth for conversations with the most insightful investors, innovators, and experts at the frontier of climate and finance.
If you’re working to fight climate change, you know finance has become an essential tool. If you’re a finance professional, you know that an understanding of climate risk and the energy transition is becoming indispensable. The connection between climate and finance will only strengthen as we redeploy trillions in capital to keep Earth habitable.
Episodes
21 episodes
Ep. 20: Corporate and securities law expert Emily Strauss on the potential and limitations of climate-related shareholder lawsuits
In the last episode of this show, I had the privilege of talking with Elizabeth Burch and Adam Orford, two law professors from University of Georgia. They helped me to better understand many of the types of climate lawsuits that have proliferat...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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44:00
Ep. 19: Law Professors Elizabeth Chamblee Burch and Adam Orford discuss the recent proliferation of major climate lawsuits
In recent years, as climate change has gained attention, there's been a proliferation of climate related lawsuits. They're based on a wide variety of legal theories. Some are brought under federal statutes like the Clean Air Act, others are bro...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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37:22
Ep. 18: Attorney and climate entrepreneur Catherine Atkin on California's pathbreaking new greenhouse gas emission disclosure law
The Paris climate agreement was designed to keep Earth habitable through a framework of national emission reduction commitments. But actual binding laws enforcing those commitments are still lagging behind. In response, many corporations have p...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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54:01
Ep. 17: Christopher Lowell of InnSure, on how insurance innovations can enable climate tech firms to scale, and help communities adapt to a changing climate
InnSure is a nonprofit organization that fosters insurance-related innovations to address climate problems. Usually, we think of insurance as a tool for climate change adaptation—and it is. But InnSure also lo...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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44:59
Ep. 16: Harvard Law and Economics Professor John C. Coates on his new book, The Problem of 12: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything
More than ever before, advocates are pressuring private-sector companies to take action related to climate impacts. One thing that’s increased the potential effectiveness of these tactics is the tremendous concentration of corporate voting powe...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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52:53
Ep. 15: Planet Tracker CEO Robin Millington talks about using sophisticated financial tools to make markets more environmentally sustainable
Robin Millington is the CEO of the London-based nonprofit financial think tank Planet Tracker. She talks about how her organization uses sophisticated financial tools to make markets more environmentally sustainable.
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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35:29
Ep. 14: The effects of climate risk on insurance, property values, and real estate markets, with Ben Keys, a professor of real estate and finance at Wharton
Ben Keys, a professor of real estate and finance at the Wharton School of Business talks about the effects of climate risk on insurance, property values, and real estate markets. Relevant Links:
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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46:37
Ep: 13: Entrepreneur and climate risk expert Emilie Mazzacurati talks about the climate risk analytics company she founded, emerging opportunities in climate adaptation, and more.
In 2012, Emilie Mazzacurati founded a company called Four Twenty Seven. It pioneered the practice of applying esoteric scientific climate models to help businesses manage climate risk. She sold the company to Moody's in 2019, and stayed on to m...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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44:57
Ep. 12: Belizean Ambassador and UN negotiator Janine Felson discusses international climate finance and the critical climate challenges of small island states
Ambassador Janine Felson is an expert on international climate finance frameworks and governance structures. She served as a senior diplomat from Belize to the United Nations. She contributed to crucial international negotiations, including the...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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50:15
Ep. 11: "Bond vigilante" and AFII CEO Ulf Erlandsson talks about how the bond market can accelerate decarbonization and help hold companies and governments accountable to climate goals.
In 2020, Ulf Erlandsson founded a nonprofit activist think tank called the Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute, or AFII. Through sophisticated analysis of bond markets, the organization seeks to hold corporations and governments accountable to ...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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45:39
Ep. 10: Dimitry Gershenson, co-founder and CEO of Enduring Planet
Today's guest is Dimitry Gershenson, co-founder and CEO of Enduring Planet. Enduring Planet is a startup financial technology firm that lends to climate-focused businesses. It provides financing...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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30:21
Ep. 9: Energy analyst and strategist Kingsmill Bond on what the energy transition means for financial markets
Today’s guest is Kingsmill Bond, a longtime equity analyst and strategist, who has provided insights on the energy industry on behalf of some of the largest banks and asset managers in the world. After recognizing the implications of the energy...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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37:37
Ep. 8: Danny Cullenward on rethinking cap-and-trade policies, what's wrong with carbon offsets, and more
In today's episode, climate economist and lawyer Danny Cullenward discusses Making Climate Policy Work, a book he wrote with coauthor David Victor. He talks about how structural political forces so often prevent cap-and-trade pro...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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52:35
Ep. 7: Franz Hochstrasser, CEO of Raise Green
Today’s guest is Franz Hochstrasser, CEO of Raise Green. Raise Green is an SEC and FINRA-registered online marketplace through which individuals and institutions can invest in startups and other private companies pursuing climate solutions. It ...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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39:27
Ep. 6: Bryan Garcia, CEO of Connecticut Green Bank
Bryan Garcia talks about how Connecticut Green Bank has devised innovative financing tools to bring clean energy solutions to businesses and households. He explains how its programs have been designed to include people in lower-income and minor...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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56:14
Ep. 5: Sylvia Leyva Martinez, of Wood Mackenzie, on the challenges and complexities of the solar industry’s current astronomical growth
Sylvia Leyva Martinez, an expert on utility-scale solar at Wood Mackenzie, talks about the challenges and complexities of the solar industry’s current astronomical growth.
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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45:51
Ep. 4: Henry Sanderson on his book, Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green
Henry Sanderson discusses his book Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green.
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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43:18
Ep. 3: Uday Varadarajan of RMI talks about the challenges and opportunities of shutting down America’s remaining coal-fired power plants
Uday Varadarajan of RMI talks about the challenges and opportunities of shutting down America’s remaining coal-fired power plants.
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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37:52
Ep. 2: Sam Van den plas of Carbon Market Watch discusses the European Emission Trading System’s successes, failures, and challenges.
Sam Van den plas, Policy Director of the European NGO Carbon Market Watch discusses the European Emission Trading System’s successes, failures, and challenges.
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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45:51
Ep. 1: Katherine Blunt discusses her book, California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric—and What It Means for America's Power Grid
Katherine Blunt discusses her book, California Burning: The Fall of Pacific Gas and Electric–and What It Means for America's Power Grid.
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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45:34