Investing in the Era of Climate Change

Climate Risk Podcast

Hear from Bruce Usher, Professor of Practice at Columbia Business School, as we examine the investment opportunities and strategies that have emerged in response to the challenges of climate change.

We know that we need to rapidly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in order to avoid catastrophic levels of climate change. This will require considerable private capital. Thankfully, there are significant investment opportunities today to support this transition, including renewable energy, electric vehicles, and battery storage, to name just a few.

Today’s discussion is all about the investment opportunities arising from climate change and the strategies that investors are using to pursue them. We’ll explore three key themes:

• The trends that are accelerating the flow of capital into transition investments;
• The pros and cons of different investment strategies, such as divestment and ESG investing;
• And what lies ahead for those who are investing in the era of climate change.

Links from today’s discussion:

• Bruce’s research and academic profile on Columbia Business School’s website
• Bruce’s new book, Investing in the Era of Climate Change
• Mark Carney’s 2015 speech, “Breaking the Tragedy of the Horizon”
• Bill Gates’ impact first initiative, Breakthrough Energy

Speaker’s Bio

Prof. Bruce Usher, Columbia Business School

Bruce is a Professor of Practice at the Columbia Business School, and Faculty Director for the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise, where he teaches on the intersection of finance, social and environmental issues. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Earth Institute, and chairs the University’s Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing.

Prior to joining Columbia University, Bruce was CEO of EcoSecurities Group plc, which developed greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in developing countries. Bruce’s latest book and the topic of today’s discussion, Investing in the Era of Climate Change, has just been published.