Forum on Climate Linked Economics
The Financial Weather and Climate Risk Management Committee (part of the BEED and CWWCE) is interested in assisting with sessions that link the weather, water, and climate enterprise to a broader community of economists, corporate executives, risk managers, financial planners, insurance professionals, and technology leaders. We want to empower business leaders to effectively incorporate insights from the scientific community and vice versa.
We propose this topic to link the AMS to other professional societies and to professionals outside of the meteorological community. We'd like to focus on the link between climate and the economy. In addition to leveraging the leaders within our field, we also want to target senior executives and managers from organizations that currently have little (or no) exposure to the AMS Community.
Millions of businesses operate day-to-day knowing that extreme weather (as influenced by a changing climate) leads to unplanned fluctuations in profitability. According to Barney Schauble, managing partner at Nephila Advisors and chairman of Nephila Climate, 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.
The Global Risks 2020 report produced by the World Economic Forum analyzes dozens of significant risks, including weapons of mass destruction, geopolitical instability, economic crashes, and others. The report states that “…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.
Laurence Fink, the CEO of Blackrock, the largest money management firm in the world, said recently “The evidence on climate risk is compelling investors to reassess core assumptions about modern finance.” He went on to say that “Climate Risk is Investment Risk”.
We believe this topic can contribute to each of the five environmental security pillars. Extreme weather, energy production/consumption, food production, water, and public health are all linked to public markets and economic systems.
The American Meteorological Society is uniquely situated to assemble a diverse community of scientists and practitioners who are all focused on these Climate Linked Economics. This topic could include submitted papers and posters, invited panels, keynote speakers, and small group leadership meetings. We could target partner organizations including the American Bar Association, the Global Association of Risk Managers, and others.
As of April 7th, Organizing Committee Volunteers Include: Stephen Bennett (Financial Weather and Climate Risk Management Committee); Julie Pullen (AMS Executive Council); Eileen Shea (AMS Centennial Committee and AMS Partnership Committee).