The Essential Podcast, Episode 10 : Resilience in the Face of Risk - Coronavirus and Climate Change

About this Episode

Steven Bullock, Head of Research at Trucost, joins The Essential Podcast to discuss the benefits of resilience in the face of risk and reasons for hope and caution on issues of climate change and carbon in a restarting global economy.

The Essential Podcast from S&P Global is dedicated to sharing essential intelligence with those working in and affected by financial markets. Host Nathan Hunt focuses on those issues of immediate importance to global financial markets – macroeconomic trends, the credit cycle, climate risk, energy transition, and global trade – in interviews with subject matter experts from around the world.

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Show Notes

Read the research discussed in this episode:

• COVID-19 pandemic presents opportunities for companies to start implementing ‘back-to-work’ strategies that align with global climate goals. Governments could look to mobilize stimulus packages that align with global climate goals, responding with renewed vigour in tackling the climate crisis. A seven percent reduction in freight shipments in the shipping sector and 40% reduction in business travel in the aviation sector could help align the industries with a 2°C climate scenario by 2030. A 3-day work-from-home policy in the professional services sector would align emissions from passenger transport over the next 5 years. Read Steven Bullock's latest research on how the world can step up to a sustainable future post-COVID.

• Almost 60% of companies in the S&P 500® (market capitalization of $18.0 trillion) and more than 40% of companies in the S&P Global 1200 (market capitalization $27.3 trillion) hold assets at high risk of physical climate change impacts. Wildfires, water stress, heatwaves and hurricane (or typhoons) linked to increasing global average temperatures represent the greatest drivers of physical risk. Read Trucost's Understanding Climate Risk at the Asset Level: The Interplay of Transition and Physical Risks report.

• The private sector is discovering positive ways to support the response to Covid-19 and investors are signaling a preference for products that favor companies with a positive societal impact. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a relevant and universal lens to track progress throughout the financial system. Learn what it means to make a positive impact during and after the pandemic.

The Essential Podcast is edited and produced by Molly Mintz.