GARP Climate Risk Podcast cover art

GARP Climate Risk Podcast

GARP Climate Risk Podcast

Written by: GARP
Listen for free

About this listen

 Hello and welcome to GARP's Climate Risk Podcast series, where we will be investigating how climate change is impacting the world of business and finance and what this means for risk management. Through the course of this series we will be bringing you insights from those working at the cutting edge of climate change. We will be joined by regulators, business leaders and risk practitioners who will help us build up a holistic view of the risks and opportunities that climate change poses and explore how this might affect you in your day to day work. Economics Politics & Government
Episodes
  • The Case for Adaptation: Heat Stress and the Built Environment

    The Case for Adaptation: Heat Stress and the Built Environment
    Apr 16 2026

    Hear from Richard Flemmings, founder and CEO of Map Impact, as we explore why "dry perils" such as heat, drought and wildfire are emerging as critical climate risks for real estate and financial decision-making.

     When climate risks are discussed, the focus often falls on what we might call "wet perils": things like flooding, storms, and coastal erosion. These risks are well studied, widely modelled, and increasingly embedded in financial decision-making. But another category of hazards is emerging: "dry perils" such as heat stress, drought, and wildfire, which are often less visible, hard to quantify, and in many cases still underestimated.

    Understanding these risks requires looking closely at the landscape itself: how land is used, how heat is retained, and how nature can either amplify or mitigate climate hazards. And when you do that, some unexpected interactions between the built environment and a changing climate start to emerge.

    That's why this episode explores:

    • Why dry perils have been underestimated, and why they are becoming increasingly important for financial risk management;
    • How real-world case studies reveal unanticipated consequences of climate risk and adaptation decisions;

    • And how nature-based solutions, from urban greening to landscape-scale interventions, can help build resilience across portfolios and communities.

    ----------------

    To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr

    To see more of our resources on climate and nature risk, visit GARP's Risk Insights: https://www.garp.org/risk-insights

    If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com

    ------------------

    Today's Speaker

    Richard Flemmings is founder and CEO of Map Impact, a climate and environmental risk analytics firm providing bottom-up analysis of dry-perils and biodiversity. With more than 20 years' experience applying satellite earth observation and geospatial technologies across government, engineering, and NGO clients, he specializes in translating environmental data into practical insights for housing, resilience building, and climate adaptation.
    Show More Show Less
    32 mins
  • Risk as an Enabler: How Development Banks Build Climate Resilience

    Risk as an Enabler: How Development Banks Build Climate Resilience
    Mar 26 2026
    Hear from Søren Elbech, Chief Risk Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank, as we explore how development banks use risk to support countries facing climate and other systemic challenges. When we think about risk in banking, the focus is often on managing exposures, pricing credit, allocating capital, and ensuring resilience. But what happens when the mission of a bank is not just to manage risk, but to actively take it on in order to improve lives? In that context, risk becomes something to be deployed — carefully, deliberately, and often in parts of the world where private markets are unwilling or unable to go. This is the role that development banks are designed to play. And increasingly, it means engaging directly with systemic risks like climate change, which shape both economic stability and the resilience of communities. That's why this episode explores: How a development bank's model differs fundamentally from a commercial bank, and how mechanisms like preferred creditor status enable lending in higher-risk environments; What it means to treat risk as an enabler; And how innovative financial structures, from debt-for-nature swaps to climate-linked bonds, can help countries build resilience to climate and other systemic risks. ---------------- 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 Centre: 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 ------------------ Speaker's Bio Søren Elbech is Chief Risk Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), a mission-driven institution focused on improving lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. With more than 30 years' experience across global capital markets and development finance — including senior roles at J.P. Morgan and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — he brings deep expertise in both international finance and mission-led risk management.
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • A Different Kind of Bank: How to Embed Impact in Finance

    A Different Kind of Bank: How to Embed Impact in Finance
    Mar 5 2026
    Hear from Sian Williams, Chief Risk Officer at Triodos Bank UK, as we examine how values-led banking can generate positive impact for people, planet and the financial system. When we think about sustainable finance, the conversation often revolves around targets, disclosures and voluntary alliances. But what happens when sustainability is not an add-on, but the foundation of a bank's entire business model? If sustainability is the starting point, lending decisions inevitably look different, and more complex. Not everything can be reduced to a model. Challenging trade-offs between risk, return and impact emerge. And judgment, values and governance play a much larger role in determining which activities are financed, and which are not. In this episode, we explore: The real-world positive impact that a mission-driven bank can generate for communities, climate and nature; How balancing risk, return and impact shapes lending decisions in practice, and what that means for the bank's governance and internal decision-making; And whether the model of values-led banking is truly scalable — or whether its greatest influence lies in demonstrating what is possible for the wider financial system. ---------------- 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 Centre: 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 ------------------ Today's Speaker Sian Williams is Chief Risk Officer at Triodos Bank UK, a mission-driven institution that seeks to balance profit with people and planet. With more than 30 years' experience in finance, including senior risk and compliance roles at Lloyds Bank, and as a banking supervisor at the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority, she brings deep expertise across traditional banking, mission-driven finance and regulation.
    Show More Show Less
    31 mins
No reviews yet