2017 Climate Science & Investment Conference

The Near-term Impacts of Climate Change on Investors

Tuesday, May 2, 2017
8:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

How can an application of the best climate science improve competition across the private sector? What are the actionable trends impacting the stability and security of food, water, shelter, health, and energy resources? How will these trends affect investment returns, creating both risks and opportunities for business leaders?

This forum—a joint effort by the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory — brings together climate scientists and business leaders to understand how new advances in climate science can inform investments in specific sectors of the global economy. The conference will explore topics that address the value and opportunity of using a science-based approach to inform and guide business decisions.

This event is by invitation only.

Agenda

8:00–8:30 a.m.

Breakfast and Registration

8:30–8:40 a.m.

Introductions

Peter deMenocal Thomas Alva Edison/Con Edison Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences; and Director, Center for Climate and Life Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Dean of Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

8:40–8:50 a.m.

Welcome Remarks on Using Science to Make Smarter Business Decisions

Ken Mehlman Global Head of Public Affairs KKR

8:50–9:20 a.m.

Lightning Talk on Sea Level and Coastal Property

Peter Huybers (view presentation) Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Science and Engineering; Co-director Harvard University Center for the Environment Christopher Mayer (view presentation) Paul Milstein Professor of Real Estate Columbia Business School

9:20–9:50 a.m.

Lightning Talk on Extreme Climate Events and Reinsurance

Adam Sobel (view presentation) Professor, Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science Stephen Weinstein Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Group General Counsel and Corporate Secretary RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

9:50–10:05 a.m.

Coffee Break

10:05–10:50 a.m.

Lightning Talk on Climate, Agriculture, and Water

Lila Preston Partner Generation Investment Management Wolfram Schlenker (view presentation) Associate Professor School of International and Public Affairs Columbia University Richard Seager (view presentation) Palisades Geophysical Institute/Lamont Research Professor Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

10:50–11:10 a.m.

Keynote Address on Electric Utility Sector Disruption

Geoffrey Heal (view presentation) Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise Columbia Business School

11:10–11:20 a.m.

Coffee Break

11:20–11:50 a.m.

Keynote Address on Climate Change and Investing

Lucas White (view presentation) Portfolio Manager GMO

11:50 a.m.–12:20 p.m.

Investor Panel on the Intersection of Climate and (Investment

Kent Daniel William von Mueffling Professor of Business Columbia Business School; Former Co-Chief Investment Officer and Head of Equity Research, Quantitative Investment Strategies Goldman Sachs Asset Management Mary Jane McQuillen Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, Head of Environmental, Social and Governance Investment ClearBridge Investments Ashley Schulten Portfolio Manager, BlackRock’s Green Bond Mandates BlackRock

12:20–12:30 p.m.

Closing Remarks

Damon Phillips Lambert Family Professor of Social Enterprise Co-Director of The Tamer Center for Social Enterprise Columbia Business School Bruce Usher Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director Co-Director of The Tamer Center for Social Enterprise Columbia Business School

References and Links Provided by Speakers

Kent Daniel

• Applying Asset Pricing Theory to Calibrate the Price of Climate Risk, Working paper

Geoff Heal

• What Would it Take to Reduce US Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80% by 2050?, The National Bureau of Economic Research
• Goldilocks Economies? Temperature Stress and the Direct Impacts of Climate Change, The National Bureau of Economic Research
• Uncertainty and Decision in Climate Change Economics , The National Bureau of Economic Research
• From Growth to Green Growth - a Framework, The National Bureau of Economic Research
• Tipping Climate Negotiations, The National Bureau of Economic Research

Peter Huybers

• Cooling of US Midwest summer temperature extremes from cropland intensification, Nature
• Seasonally Resolved Distributional Trends of North American Temperatures Show Contraction of Winter Variability, American Meteorological Society (AMS)

Wolfram Schlenker

• Nonlinear Temperature Effects Indicate Severe Damages to U.S. Crop Yields Under Climate Change, Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America (PNAS)
• Identifying Supply and Demand Elasticities of Agricultural Commodities: Implications for the US Ethanol Mandate, American Economic Association
• Greater Sensitivity to Drought Accompanies Maize Yield Increase in the U.S. Midwest, Science
• Federal Crop Insurance and the Disincentive to Adapt to Extreme Heat, American Economic Association
• US Maize Adaptability, Nature

Richard Seager

• Decadal Drought Variability Over North America: Mechanisms and Predictability, Springer
• Climate Change in the Fertile Crescent and Implications of the Recent Syrian Drought, Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America (PNAS)
• Projections of Declining Surface-water Availability for the Southwestern United States, Nature Climate Change
• Causes of the 2011–14 California Drought, American Meteorological Society
• Running Dry: Weathering the Great California Drought, Harvard College Review of Environment and Society

Adam Sobel

• Where Are the Hurricanes?, New York Times
• All at Sea - What Mumbai Needs to Learn from Superstorm Sandy, The Times of India
• Human Influence on Tropical Cyclone Intensity, Science
• Influence of the El Ñino/Southern Oscillation on Tornado and Hail Frequency in the United States, Nature
• On the Impact Angle of Hurricane Sandy’s New Jersey Landfall, Geophysical Research Letters

Bruce Usher

• On the Heels of a Boom, a Foggier Future for Solar, Ideas and Insights
• Real Progress on Emissions Can Lead to a Global Pact, New York Times
• The U.S. as a Climate Change Leader?, The Huffington Post

Other References

• The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States National Report, Risky Business
• From Risk to Return, Risky Business

Research Report

Download the report here.