The effects of climate change and the global response to it are already reshaping the global economy. Whilst much has been made of the negative tipping points that we’re on course to trigger, there’s a wealth of interventions that might produce positive tipping points – when solutions break from niche market into mass market. Many of them require capital at scale – and it exists, but it must be redirected with an intentional and swift pursuit of these positive tipping points.

What is required from corporate leaders and private investors in order to funnel capital towards investments capable of driving markets towards positive tipping points? What is the role of public finance in de-risking investments to support systems, infrastructure, and industries for a sustainable and resilient economy?

The most successful businesses and investors are future-proofing portfolios by transitioning to net zero, nature-positive solutions. We are now at a point where the right conditions exist to unlock the high quality capital needed to invest in a sustainable future for people and planet. And if not now, then when?

In partnership with SYSTEMIQ, we held an evening where climate and policy expert James Cameron discussed climate finance and the positive impacts and returns it’s capable of unlocking. He was joined by a panel with deep expertise covering finance, investment and private capital, sustainability, and law.

Katherine Stodulka, Director of Sustainable Finance, SYSTEMIQ; Director of the Blended Finance Taskforce. Katherine leads the Sustainable Finance platform at SYSTEMIQ – a system-change firm tackling the climate emergency and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals for people and planet.  As part of this role, Katherine is the Director of the Blended Finance Taskforce, a global coalition which launched in 2017 to help mobilise public and private capital for a net-zero, nature-positive and more inclusive economy. Working with institutional investors, development banks, governments and project developers, Katherine helps structure largescale blended finance vehicles, including the $1bn DYNAMIQ renewables fund for South East Asia, the $3bn “SDG One” platform for low-carbon infrastructure in Indonesia and the $625m Global Fund for Coral Reefs. Katherine is on the Advisory Board for Credit Suisse’s “Responsible Consumer Fund” which invests in listed companies that champion a sustainable approach to production and consumption and is a Fellow to Studio 8 FOLD which specialises in sustainable architecture and design. Katherine works closely with the City of London’s Green Finance Institute and the “Make My Money Matter” campaign for net-zero and deforestation-free pension funds. Katherine also co-founded the “Tri Hita Karana Forum for Sustainable Development” and is an advisor to the “Natural Capital, Carbon and Communities” Council in Indonesia.  Katherine has worked pro bono for the Refugee Civil Law Clinic and Climate Policy Watch to support Small Island Developing Nations in the Paris Agreement negotiations at COP21. Before joining SYSTEMIQ, Katherine was a lawyer in Australia and the UK specialising in M&A and project finance for energy assets and other major infrastructure. She graduated with First Class Honours from the University of Queensland. She is one of the lead authors of a number of seminal reports on financing the transition including “Better Finance, Better World”, “Infra 3.0”, “Blended Finance for Clean Energy” and “Better Finance, Better Food”.

James Cameron is an award-winning recognised authority in the global climate change movement and a qualified barrister with over 30 years’ experience. James serves on boards and advisory committees across financial, legal, academic, and governmental organisations. These include the Octopus Renewables Investment Trust (ORIT), SYSTEMIQ, Pollination Group, Tulchan, Solar Century, AVAIO Capital, and the Overseas Development Institute (Chairman 2012 – 2020). Until 2015, James was Chairman of Climate Change Capital (CCC), which he co-founded in 2003 and developed into an investment bank employing 150 people with US$1.6 billion under management. Prior to CCC, James was Counsel to Baker & McKenzie and was the founder and the head of their Climate Change and Clean Energy Practice. He also co-founded the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development and the Centre for International Environmental Law. He has spent much of his legal career focussing on climate matters including negotiating the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol as an advisor to the Alliance of Small Island States. James is a London Sustainable Development Commissioner, a Friend of COP26 and was an advisor to Presidencies of the COP22 and COP23 climate negotiations. He has academic appointments at Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, and the Colorado School of Mines.

Dr Vian Sharif is Head of Sustainability at FNZ. She is part of the team driving the development of innovative technology solutions to catalyse the shift to more sustainable capital allocations, and ultimately a more sustainable world. Prior to this she spent over a decade at global asset manager Investec. As part of a number of governmental and international sustainability advisory groups, she is also a Member of the Taskforce for Nature Related Disclosures Technical Experts Group. She is the co-founder of ’Benchmark for Nature’, an Oxford University research project to evaluate the impacts on nature of investment decisions, recognising the gap which currently exists in investor portfolios and metrics.

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