Sincerest thanks to everyone who has been able to join the FinWxComm regular meetings over the past couple of months! It’s hard to believe that we are already moving into meteorological summer and the midpoint of 2022 is close at hand.
Here are some notes from our discussions so far this year.
Who is FinWx?
FinWx Vision:
We form a crossroads where those from the AMS Community connect with those from the financial markets.
We create opportunities that develop human capital whose domain expertise is leveraged to increase enterprise value in all sectors capable of improving financial performance by managing weather/climate risk.
FinWx Mission:
Engage end-users in all sectors so they better understand and analyze weather/climate risk, network with other weather/climate market participants, and ultimately improve financial performance by managing weather/climate risk.
Encourage transparency and improved understanding of this market, thereby enabling decision-makers to minimize the impact of weather/climate events on their operations and financial earnings.
Develop new relationships across various industries, discuss standardized approaches for risk assessment, and support further growth of the weather/climate risk marketplace.
FinWx Goals:
Offering educational initiatives on weather & climate risk management;
Facilitating discussions on best practices for weather/climate risk assessment;
Acting as a resource for end-users and established weather/climate risk market participants
2022 So Far:
FinWx organized the First Forum on Climate Linked Economics at the 102nd AMS Annual Meeting:
More and more companies are examining their exposure to climate-related risks as a result of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), credit rating agencies, and other bodies. Millions of businesses operate day-to-day knowing that extreme weather (as influenced by a changing climate) leads to unplanned fluctuations in profitability. The Global Risks 2020 report produced by the World Economic Forum said “…environmental risks have grown in prominence in recent years. For the first time, 'extreme weather events,' 'natural disasters,' and 'failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation' are in the top five global risks for both impact and likelihood of occurrence within the next ten years.
First, a keynote presentation from Adam Smith followed by panelists and audience discussion about the effects of climate change on extreme weather and the management practices that mitigate short-term business losses and optimize day-to-day operations. Panelists included: Steve Bennett, Co-Founder and Chief Climate Officer for The Demex Group; Adam Smith, Lead Scientist at the U.S. Billion-dollar Weather and Climate Disasters program; NOAA NCEI Climate Science and Services Division; Josh Darr, Managing Director and Head of North America Peril Advisory at Guy Carpenter; Jon Davis, Chief Meteorologist at Everstream Analytics.
Next, a keynote presentation from Josh Hacker followed by panelists and audience discussing how climate change will impact long-term investments and capital planning. Panelists included: Julie Pullen, Climate Strategist at Jupiter Intelligence; Josh Hacker, Chief Scientist at Jupiter Intelligence; Jo Paisley, President of GARP Risk Institute; Matt Coleman, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Nephila Climate; Harun Dogo, Executive Director, Global Sustainable Finance at Morgan Stanley
FinWx organized the Second Forum on Climate Linked Economics focused on Social Inequities at the 2022 AMS Washington Forum:
Mark, Sheila, and Adam organized this session to explore the impacts that economic decisions can have on the weather and climate and the social justice impacts intertwined with these events.
Panelists from the private sector, government, and grassroots environmental organizations detailed what Economic Justice is, why it matters to Environmental / Climate Justice, how we are reacting to adapting to and learning about this intersection, and the impacts already seen in the real world. Panelists included: Noah Patton: Housing Policy Analyst for Disaster Recovery at the National Low Income Housing Coalition; Adam Smith: Applied Climatologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information - Climate Science and Services Division; and Karyn Bigelow: Co-Executive Director at Creation Justice Ministries.
Speakers all focused on how economic factors weigh into the ability to respond to weather and climate disasters before, during, and after the event. The panel fielded questions from the audience and they seemed to really inspire people to want to take action, through policy, advocacy, or awareness building. Overall it was a great addition to the Washington Forum.
FinWx committee members have been participating in Mind the Gap virtual workshop as a lead-up to the Mind the Gap Workshop at the University at Albany in mid-June.
In recent years, the changing private sector landscape in atmospheric sciences has exposed existing gaps in the education and preparation of the atmospheric science workforce and the skillsets needed for private-sector employment. Students and faculty from a variety of meteorology programs have expressed that there is a lack of awareness regarding existing private sector career opportunities and the requisite skillsets to pursue those careers. How can academic departments and programs work with the private sector to better prepare students for the wide-ranging career opportunities in atmospheric science? AMS Mind the Gap is organized around addressing answers to this question.
Sheila has stepped up to lead month-to-month meetings.
Looking ahead across 2022 and into 2023:
Continue creating a link between the meteorological and climate science communities and the broader community of economists, corporate executives, risk managers, financial planners, insurance professionals, and technology leaders. Organize an ongoing series under the banner "Forum on Climate Linked Economics” with a focus on the 103rd AMS Annual Meeting.
Continue linking the broad communities of financial interests and the weather, water, and climate enterprise, to those focusing on the moral and justice issues that overlay both of these communities through our Initiative on Financial Weather/Climate Justice.
We’d like to invite guests from the financial community (non-meteorologists) to be “guest speakers” at our committee meetings in 2022 and 2023.
In coordination with Mind-the-Gap, we’d also like to author a series of case studies. It can be grouped by the industry, by the type of weather risk, and by the risk transfer instruments. We want to give people an opportunity to see what has been done already and how.
FinWx Members are working with the AMS Board on Best Practices Preparing Students for the Private Sector Committee.
FinWx Members are working with the AMS Board of Higher Education as it revises the AMS Statement on the Bachelor's Degree in Atmospheric Science.