ESG Investing Insights: $60T in Assets, Policy Shifts, and Climate Risks with Steven Rothstein of Ceres

Explore how the Ceres Accelerator is shaping ESG investing, tackling anti-ESG rhetoric, and guiding $60T of assets through climate risk, regulation, and opportunity.

⭐ My guest today is Steven Rothstein, the founding Managing Director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets.

Previously, Steven ran the world-renowned Perkins School for the Blind, as well as Environmental Futures, Citizen Schools, and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

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🎙️ In this episode, we talked about:

The lack of substance behind state-level anti-ESG investing headlines. The overwhelming majority of people who believe businesses can achieve a public good and generate market-rate financial returns. The Ceres Freedom to Invest program to make this a red, white, and blue issue, and not just a green issue

How the TCFD frames risk and opportunity creation for investors in a low-carbon future. Why 92% of the Fortune 500 companies conduct sustainability reporting to investors. The SEC and California state greenhouse gas disclosure rulemaking and what it means for 8,000+ companies.

What the insurance industry’s $40B of losses last year could mean for the future of that industry in a world where major weather events occur every two weeks today vs. every four months in 1980.

Why this quote from H.L. Mencken is relevant: "For every complex problem, there's a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." How the banking industry might face more risk from climate exposure today than the risks it faced in the subprime crisis of years past.

And lots more!

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