Climate Risk Podcast

Hear from Mike Azlen, Founder and CEO of Carbon Cap Management, as we explore the ever-changing carbon markets and the future of emissions trading. The carbon markets can be very confusing. Between offsets, credits, permits, and allowances, it can be hard to understand the many ways emissions can be traded, as well as the different mechanisms for pricing them. Furthermore, as these markets and their participants mature, different strategies are emerging for how firms can transition to net-zero in a safe and responsible way. In today’s episode, we’ll explain the fundamentals of the compliance and voluntary carbon markets, but also explore some key emerging trends, including: ·       The proliferation of emissions trading schemes across the world; ·       How firms are navigating the challenges of the voluntary carbon market; and ·       The advent of carbon as a fully-fledged asset class. To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today’s discussion: Carbon Cap Management’s (CCM) World Carbon Fund - https://www.carbon-cap.com/world-carbon-fund CCM’s research paper - Carbon as an Emerging Asset Class - https://www.cfainstitute.org/-/media/documents/article/industry-research/climate-change-analyis.ashx#page=36 CCM’s educational videos on carbon markets, carbon trading, and climate change - https://www.carbon-cap.com/educational-videos International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) ETS Map - https://icapcarbonaction.com/en/ets Climeworks’ direct air capture technology - https://climeworks.com/direct-air-capture JP Morgan’s recent purchase of carbon removal credits - https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/jpmorgan-chase-spend-200-mln-carbon-dioxide-removals-2023-05-23/ Speaker’s Bio Mike Azlen, Founder and CEO, Carbon Cap Management Mike is a senior investment professional with 25 years of industry experience. After a 15-year career spanning two Canadian banks and several alternative asset management companies, Mike founded Frontier Investment Management in 2005 and grew the business to profitability before selling the business to a public company in 2013 and completing his earnout in 2016. Mike formed Carbon Cap Management LLP in 2018 as an environmental asset manager focused on climate change and launched the World Carbon Fund in February 2020. The fund invests into multiple liquid and regulated carbon markets and aims to generate strong uncorrelated returns and a direct impact on carbon emissions. Carbon Cap’s mission is to raise awareness about climate change and to provide solutions directly related to the capping and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Mike holds a Sloan Masters Degree in Leadership and Strategy from London Business School and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) and has completed the LSE’s Economics and Governance of Climate Change course. Mike is a regular speaker at investment conferences and has been a guest lecturer on the graduate degree programs at London Business School for more than 15 years.

Hear from Nicky Dee, Co-Founder of Carbon13, as we take a closer look at the climate startup ecosystem and how it’s changing the way we decarbonize. Many sectors, especially hard-to-abate ones such as steel and cement, are failing to align with a 1.5-degree world and still require fundamental change to become viable in a low carbon economy. Recognizing that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, we often turn to innovation as a way to find creative solutions to decarbonization challenges. Many entrepreneurs and innovators are turning their attention to climate and environmental issues, but given the scale and urgency of the challenges, more are always needed. Building on what we learnt about startups in the previous episode of this podcast, this discussion will dive into the world of venture builders which specialize in incubating climate startups, harnessing the creative power of entrepreneurs to tackle the climate emergency. We explore some key aspects of climate venture building, including: The process of creating a startup; How to build a team of the right people; and How these startups can help catalyse the transition to net-zero. For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today’s discussion: Carbon13 – https://carbonthirteen.com/C Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership – https://www.cisl.cam.ac.uk/ Entrepreneur First – https://www.joinef.com/ Kita – carbon insurance– https://www.kita.earth/ Kita CEO Natalia Dorfman on the Climate Risk Podcast - https://www.garp.org/podcast/powerful-risk-management-cr-050423 Blue Methane – removing methane from water – https://www.bluemethane.com/ Global Methane Pledge – https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/ Naturebound – measuring and monitoring biodiversity - https://naturebound.ai/ Preoptima – real-time carbon analysis for construction projects –  https://www.preoptima.com/ Biozeroc – carbon neutral construction materials – https://www.biozeroc.com/ Speaker’s Bio Nicky Dee, Co-Founder and Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer at Carbon13 Nicky has over 20 years’ experience engaging with startups and a variety of stakeholders to promote sustainability. She co-founded Carbon13 to build and invest in companies to address the climate emergency. Over the last two years, this has included 46 pre-seed investments in cutting-edge net zero startups, including Kita, who’s CEO Natalia Dorfman featured in the previous episode of this podcast. Nicky has pioneered a range of activities including innovation prizes, low carbon investments, corporate engagement mechanisms and startup ecosystems. She has a PhD from the University of Cambridge, and is a Senior Associate with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.

Hear from Natalia Dorfman, CEO & Co-Founder of Kita, as we explore the potential role of insurance in boosting the integrity of the voluntary carbon market. The voluntary carbon market will likely be an important tool in the transition to net-zero. Even if the world stopped emitting today, enormous amounts of greenhouse gas would still need to be removed from the atmosphere to limit warming to 1.5oC, which can only be achieved by carbon removal at scale. However, in its current state, the voluntary carbon market is both too small and too risky. To meet this challenge, it needs to grow to the size of the oil and gas industry by 2050, and significantly improve the transparency and reliability of its carbon credits, which is currently deterring investment. This is where carbon insurance comes in. By protecting investors from the financial and reputational risks associated with carbon credits, this insurance may have a significant role to play in both scaling-up and de-risking the voluntary carbon market. We’ll investigate: The key barriers to investment facing the voluntary carbon market; The potential role for insurance in making this market more effective; And the benefits of a scaled-up and de-risked voluntary carbon market for fighting both climate change and biodiversity loss. We'll also showcase the role of start-ups in this space, as they bring fresh perspectives, innovative products, and a willingness to take on big challenges to the issue of climate change. For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today’s discussion: Kita - https://www.kita.earth/ The Earthshot Prize - https://earthshotprize.org/ Carbon13 - https://carbonthirteen.com/ Verra - https://verra.org/ Gold Standard - https://www.goldstandard.org/ Speaker’s Bio Natalia Dorfman is the CEO and co-founder of Kita, a carbon insurance specialist. Kita’s purpose is accelerating investment in high quality carbon sequestration projects with insurance that reduces transaction risk and safeguards the performance of carbon purchases. Kita’s flagship insurance product is Carbon Purchase Protection Cover, protecting buyers of forward purchased carbon credits against under-delivery. In 2023, Kita was nominated for the Earthshot Prize in the category of Fix Our Climate. Prior to founding Kita, Natalia spent 15 years as a business development and strategy specialist within the legal sector, including leading the Climate Risk practice strategy as Global Head of New Business at Clyde & Co LLP. Her experience with large corporations on their climate change-related challenges inspired her to help accelerate positive change through entrepreneurship. She was named among the “Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch” by NatWest and the Telegraph in November 2022.

Hear from Professor Jo Handelsman on the threats and opportunities that arise from soil – a vitally important resource that many of us take for granted and yet is at significant risk. Humans depend on soil for 95% of global food production, yet it is eroding at unsustainable rates.  Climate change is making this worse, for example as rainstorms are projected to become more frequent and intense with a warming planet.  This poses severe risks to our ability to feed a growing population. Yet, soil is also the largest terrestrial repository for carbon, containing three times as much as the Earth’s atmosphere and four times as much as all plants combined, meaning that it has the potential to be a significant mitigant in the fight to stop to climate change. Given its critical importance to humanity, we wanted to use this episode to dive into the threats and opportunities that arise from soil.  We’ll discuss: ·       Why and how soil is so vitally important for humanity; ·       The scale of the risks from soil erosion and what can be done to stop this; ·       And how the financial sector can respond to help address this ‘silent crisis’. For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today’s discussion: Wisconsin Institute for Discovery - https://wid.wisc.edu/ White House Office of Science and Technology Policy - https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/ A World Without Soil by Jo Handelsman - https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300271119/a-world-without-soil/ GARP Climate Risk Podcast with Maggie Monast (Environmental Defense Fund) - https://www.garp.org/podcast/reduce-emission-resilience-cr-210617 Speaker’s Bio Dr Jo Handelsman is the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is also a Vilas Research Professor and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor.  Dr. Handelsman was appointed by President Barack Obama as the Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she served for three years until January 2017. She has been editor-in-chief of various academic journals and is the author of many books, including the co-author of the recently published book ‘A World Without Soil: the past, present and precarious future of the earth beneath our feet.’ She received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama in 2011 and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.

Hear from Chris Howland and Lars Popken of Deutsche Bank, as we delve into the complexities of incorporating climate risk within financial institutions. Measuring and managing the risks from climate change is often a challenge for many financial institutions, partly due to a lack of consistent data and analytical tools. As a result, many are still in the early stages of integrating climate within their day-to-day business and risk management processes. Beyond this, many have made net-zero commitments, which adds another layer of complexity to this challenge. From their experience at Deutsche Bank, our guests will discuss the hurdles they’ve faced and share their expertise on how banks and other financial institutions can get to grips with climate risk. We'll cover a range of topics, including: Integrating climate into risk metrics and setting a climate risk appetite; Working with counterparties and preparing for a supervisory climate stress test; and The benefits of adopting a multidisciplinary approach to climate risk management. For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today’s discussion: Deutsche Bank’s 2022 Non-Financial Report - https://investor-relations.db.com/files/documents/annual-reports/2023/Non-Financial-Report-2022.pdf Summary of the European Central Bank (ECB) 2022 Climate Risk Stress Test - https://www.bankingsupervision.europa.eu/ecb/pub/pdf/ssm.climate_stress_test_report.20220708~2e3cc0999f.en.pdf NGFS climate scenarios portal - https://www.ngfs.net/ngfs-scenarios-portal/ IFRS 9 Financial Instruments - https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/list-of-standards/ifrs-9-financial-instruments/   Speaker’s Bio(s) Chris Howland, Head of Enterprise Risk Portfolio Management and ESG, Deutsche Bank Chris has responsibility for portfolio risk strategies and appetite setting across multiple dimensions including sectoral and regional, the preparation of holistic risk reporting for senior management and emerging risk analysis and reviews. He is responsible for developing the Bank’s holistic ESG risk management frameworks, working in close coordination with other Risk and Business divisions, with a particular focus on the tools and methodologies for measuring, monitoring, and controlling climate risk. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2008 Chris worked for the Bank of England. He holds an MSc in Economics and Finance from the University of York and an MA in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. Lars Popken, Global Head of Risk Methodology, Deutsche Bank Lars focusses on model development activities which relate to Credit Risk Rating Methodologies, Interest Rate Risk in the Banking Book as well as Economic Capital and Stresstesting for DB Group. In the US, a specific focus area is CCAR for credit risk as well as pre-provisioning net revenues. Prior to (re)joining Deutsche Bank in 2009, Lars worked for two years at the strategic consultancy firm Oliver Wyman. Lars holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Hear from Dr. Nicola Ranger, Director of Climate and Environmental Analytics at the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI), as we discuss the importance of climate adaptation. When discussing humanity’s response to climate change, we often draw a dividing line between the competing priorities of mitigation and adaptation. Simply put, mitigation measures are actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while adaptation measures are based on reducing our vulnerability to the effects of climate change. Looking back over the past three years of this podcast, whilst we have had many discussions about various mitigation efforts, we have had comparatively few conversations about adaptation. This imbalance between mitigation and adaptation is one that can be found throughout the financial sector. Despite its clear importance, and the often urgent adaptation efforts taking place outside of the financial domain, it continues to receive relatively little attention. This episode asks: Why is this the case? What would an appropriate balance between the mitigation and adaptation look like? And how can the financial sector drive progress on adaptation efforts? For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today’s discussion: -          CGFI’s Publications - https://www.cgfi.ac.uk/category/publications/ -          Global Resilience Index Initiative - https://www.cgfi.ac.uk/2022/11/grii-launch-blog/ -          Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) - https://tnfd.global/about/   Speaker’s Bio(s) Dr. Nicola Ranger, Director, Climate and Environmental Analytics at the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI) Nicola is currently Director of Climate and Environmental Analytics at the UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment (CGFI), a national centre established to accelerate the adoption and use of climate and environmental data and analytics by financial institutions internationally. She works at the intersection of science, risk analytics, finance, economics and policy and has almost two decades of experience in climate change, development, sustainable finance and crisis risk financing. Before joining CGFI in 2021, Nicola has held senior roles spanning public policy, development finance, academia and within industry. She has also authored more than 30 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles, and contributed to major reports including the UK National Climate Change Risk Assessment, the IPCC Special Report on Managing Extreme Events, and the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change.

Hear from Carys Taylor, Director of BAFTA’s albert programme, as we explore the issues of climate change and sustainability through the lens of film and television. The film and television sector may not have the biggest carbon footprint, but it still has an important role to play in the transition to net-zero. With 70% of the global population owning a TV, the film and television industry can have a significant influence on public debate. Moreover, changing demographics and technology are pushing the industry to consider the viewing habits and preferences of a younger, more climate-conscious generation. That’s why in today’s episode, we’ll take a closer look at the challenges and opportunities facing this sector, including: The decarbonization of the $200bn per year content production industry, How it is adapting to changes in the way we watch and consume content, And the challenge of using its influence responsibly. For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com Links from today’s discussion: - albert’s homepage - https://wearealbert.org/ - albert’s carbon calculator and production certification - https://wearealbert.org/carbon-calculator-and-production-certification/ - [Contains spoilers for HBO’s Succession] Succession’s plot twist prompts surge of interest in leaving money in wills to Greenpeace - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/27/successions-plot-twist-prompts-thousands-to-leave-money-to-greenpeace-in-their-wills - [Contains spoilers for 1917] The albert certified production of 1917 - https://wearealbert.org/2020/01/10/how-big-budget-film-1917-achieved-certification/ Speaker’s Bio(s) Carys Taylor, Director of albert Carys Taylor is the Director of albert, the home of sustainability for the TV and film industry. Prior to taking up the role, Carys was at National Grid where she worked on solutions to decarbonize transport, the biggest contributor to UK carbon emissions. She is no stranger to the TV industry however, having also worked at BBC Studios as an advisor to Tim Davie, advocating for the UK’s creative sector.

Hear from Jo Paisley and Maxine Nelson of the GARP Risk Institute as they look back on key learnings from the latest season of the Climate Risk Podcast. As we head into 2023, Maxine and Jo once again join forces to review the latest season of Climate Risk Podcasts, gleaning key insights from each guest and discussing ongoing trends in climate risk management. From scientists to CEOs, asset owners to archaeologists, we’ve upheld our promise to showcase a variety of different perspectives on climate risk and sustainability. This episode re-examines the rich knowledge that has been shared on the Climate Risk Podcast over the last 12 months, creating a narrative of climate risk wisdom to guide our listeners through this fast-moving field. In today’s episode, we will discuss: What we’ve learnt about risk, vulnerability, and exposure; How well the financial sector is supporting the transition to a net-zero world; And what advice our guests offered to risk and finance professionals. Links from today’s discussion: Andy Smith and Matt Jones - 30 Years of Catastrophe Modelling: Lessons for Risk Professionals Julie Pullen - The Oceans & Climate Explained (and Why it Matters to Finance) Kevin Dooley - Supply Chains: Why Sustainability is the Best Form of Risk Management David Victor and Danny Cullenward - How Politics Shapes Climate Policy: Insights for Risk Professionals Emily Shuckburgh - Data, AI, and Innovation: Insights from the Frontiers of Climate Science Brian Fagan - 30,000 Years in 30 Minutes: Climate Risk from an Archaeologist’s Perspective Bruce Usher - Investing in the Era of Climate Change Sean Kidney - The Green Bond Market Explained (And Why Investors Do Need to Worry About Climate Risk) Alan Smith - Culture and Capability: An Asset Owner’s Guide to Net Zero Eila Kreivi - EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance: Everything You Wanted to Know, But Were Too Afraid to Ask Mark Campanale - Achieving Net-Zero: Reframing Climate Change as a Supply Side Issue William McDonnell - The "Net" of "Net-Zero": Making Voluntary Carbon Markets Work and Christmas Climate Book Club Special Speaker’s Bio(s) Jo Paisley, President, GARP Risk Institute Jo has worked on a variety of risk areas at GRI, including stress testing, operational resilience, model risk management and climate risk. Her career prior to joining GARP spanned public and private sectors, including working as the Director of the Supervisory Risk Specialist Division within the Prudential Regulation Authority and as Global Head of Stress Testing at HSBC. Maxine Nelson, Senior Vice President, GARP Risk Institute Maxine currently focuses on climate risk management. Previous roles have included operational risk modelling at NAB, leading KMPG London’s credit risk team, senior consultant at Oliver Wyman, responsibility for counterparty credit risk at the UK Financial Services Authority, and Global Head of Wholesale Risk Analytics and Head of Capital Planning at HSBC.

Hear from members of the UK’s Climate Financial Risk Forum, as we dive into their brand-new publications on climate litigation and physical risk. Part 1 | Litigation Risk Underwriting Guide | 00:00:00–00:15:54 Part 2 | Physical Risk Underwriting Guide | 00:15.54–00:36:13 The Climate Financial Risk Forum (CFRF) was set up in 2019 by the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to build capacity and share best practice across industry and the regulators to advance the sector’s responses to the financial risks from climate change. In this special episode, we discuss the CFRF’s Litigation Risk and Physical Risk Underwriting Guides, which are available from 9 December 2022. The guides focus on risks that are particularly pertinent to the insurance industry, but are highly relevant to many financial firms. The guests were all heavily involved in producing these publications, so they’ll be sharing their thoughts and insights as a compliment to the papers themselves. For the litigation portion of this episode, we will discuss: Why climate litigation risk deserves special attention from insurers; How financial firms are reacting to the fast-changing litigation landscape; and Key recommendations for financial institutions trying to understand their exposure to this risk. And for the physical risk portion, we will discuss: The distribution of physical risks globally relative to the distribution of global insurance; The challenges of modelling complex hazards from climate change; and The capabilities that financial firms can build and the strategies they can adopt to deal with highly uncertain risks. Links from today’s discussion: CFRF’s Litigation Risk Underwriting Guide CFRF’s Physical Risk Underwriting Guide Other CFRF 2022 publications Results of the 2021 Climate Biennial Exploratory Scenario (CBES) Nigel’s previous appearances on the Climate Risk Podcast and the Climate Risk Webcast Grantham Institute’s 2022 Global Climate Change Litigation Snapshot Geneva Association’s 2021 Global Report on Climate Litigation UN’s Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA) homepage Speaker’s Bios Nigel Brook, Partner, Clyde & Co. Nigel has been a partner at Clyde & Co since 1985 and heads the firm's reinsurance team. An international insurance and reinsurance disputes specialist with over 30 years' experience, Nigel is considered by many to be one of the top insurance lawyers worldwide. He leads Clyde & Co’s global campaign on Resilience and Climate Change Risk, building a body of know-how and raising awareness of climate-related legal duties and potential liabilities. He is a member of the Law, Regulation and Resilience Policies Working Group of the Insurance Development Forum – a public/private partnership seeking to optimise and extend the use of insurance and the industry's risk management capabilities to protect those most vulnerable to disasters. He co-authored the firm's 2018 Reports on Parametric Insurance and Inclusive Insurance – exploring the role of innovative risk transfer in closing the global protection gap – and has authored and edited Clyde & Co's 2018/19 series of reports on the rising tide of Climate Change liability and duties of care. Paul Barrett, Chief Risk Officer, AIG UK Paul is Chief Risk Officer for AIG UK. He is also the designated ‘Senior Manager’ for Climate Change Risk. Paul reports jointly to the Board of AIG UK and Fabrice Brossart, CRO, GI International. Paul’s team is responsible for the Risk Governance, ORSA, Stress Testing, Risk Register, Risk Appetite & Limits and Operational Risk processes. Paul also works closely with the Group in helping to develop AIG’s Climate Strategy. Previously Paul was Assistant Director, Solvency II at the Association of British Insurers (ABI). Prior to that Paul worked in Policy at the Financial Services Authority. Shane Latchman, VP and Managing Director, Verisk As a vice president and the managing director of Verisk’s Extreme Event Solutions team in London, Shane Latchman is involved in many of Verisk’s extreme event models and Touchstone initiatives, such as the integration of third-party data and models, expanding Verisk’s capabilities in marine and energy, climate change quantification, and the Next Generation Financial Module. He interacts frequently with rating agencies and regulators on topics such as stress tests, climate change, and the Solvency II directive on EU insurance regulation.  Shane joined Verisk after receiving his master’s degree in 2008. Shane sits on and collaborates with various industry working groups, committees, and boards, including Bank of England, Open Data Standards, Insurance Development Forum, and Cass Business School. He writes and speaks frequently on topics related to catastrophe risk and climate change. Joss Matthewman, Senior Director of Climate Change Product Management & Strategy, RMS Joss rejoined RMS in 2020 as Senior Director of Climate Change Product Management. Prior to this Joss was Head of Catastrophe Exposure Management at Hiscox, responsible for natural catastrophe, war, terror and political violence exposure management and reporting across the group.  Before joining Hiscox, Joss spent seven years in model development at RMS where he worked on the North Atlantic Hurricane and Asia Typhoon models, before being appointed Head of Storm Surge Modelling. During this period Joss joined the PRA working group on climate change which he continues to engage with today. Prior to entering the insurance industry Joss obtained a PhD in Applied Mathematics from UCL and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in climate science at the University of California, Irvine. His published areas of research include stratospheric sudden warmings, and the impact of sea-ice on global atmospheric teleconnections.

What climate books do you want for Christmas?  Listen in to find out where to start on picking out those stocking fillers. In this special episode, Jo reunites with William McDonnell to discuss their top picks of climate books across all genres, from climate science to politics and economics, covering fiction and non-fiction. Although its light-hearted, there’s a deadly serious point: given the urgency of the climate crisis, we need to educate ourselves on the nature of the problem and the solutions at hand. Books offer a wonderful opportunity to learn much more about the challenges we face to build up a holistic view of risks that we value so much at GARP. With so many excellent books out there, we hope this episode offers a guide, whether it’s for expanding your own library of climate-related books or simply finding the perfect gift. And remember – as they say about dogs – a book is for life, not just for Christmas. If you enjoyed this episode and would like to give us feedback, please let us know at climateriskpodcast@garp.com. You can find a full list of the books mentioned in today's podcast here: https://www.garp.org/hubfs/Website/GRI/PDF/garp-climate-risk-podcast-ep-41-christmas-book-list.pdf  Speaker’s Bio(s) William McDonnell, COO, Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market William is COO for the ICVCM, the new global governance body to set and enforce threshold quality standards for the voluntary carbon market. Prior to that he had a 25-year career in financial services. Most recently he was Group Chief Risk Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee for RSA Insurance Group plc for 7 years, responsible for Risk, Assurance and Compliance groupwide. Prior to RSA he held roles at HSBC Investment Bank, Aviva, the UK Financial Services Authority and Deloitte. William is a leading voice on climate risk in the financial sector, having served as a member of the ClimateWise Council and of the UK’s Climate Financial Risk Forum, and as chair of the Emerging Risks Initiative of leading global insurers, publishing a major climate study ‘The Heat is on – Insurability and Resilience in a Changing Climate’.