A Sustainable Future

What does the data say about our net zero ambitions? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Vaclav Smil, academic and author of the New York Times bestseller How the World Really Works, what the energy transition by 2050 realistically means; how energy transitions have evolved historically; and what are the real implications when people talk of a climate ‘earthshot’. Vaclav Smil Vaclav is Distingui...

How is the UK FCA driving the next evolution of sustainability regulation? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Sacha Sadan, FCA Director of ESG, what the FCA’s new SDR framework means for investors; how it aims to provide anti-greenwashing protections; and why we need to work towards greater harmonisation across the multitude of global sustainability standards. Sacha Sadan Sacha Sadan is the Dir...

Can the fashion industry become truly sustainable? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Janice Wang, Alvanon CEO, what sustainability means in a fashion context, how to adapt to shifting demographics and changing body types, and why efficiencies like 3D and digital technologies are already revolutionising the market. Janice Wang, CEO Janice Wang is CEO of Alvanon and Chairwoman of the Board at MO...

What is COP27 set to accomplish? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Quamrul Chowdury, COP27 Lead Climate Negotiator, about what to expect going into COP27, how G-77 and LDC negotiating positions are taking shape, and what’s at stake for the most climate-vulnerable countries. Quamrul Chowdury has been a climate negotiator for over thirty years. He serves as a Lead Climate and Sustainable Develop...

Is the criticism of ESG well-founded or political posturing? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Professor Ioannis Ioannou, London Business School, about what is at stake in the backlash to ESG, how to think about the factors driving its politicisation, and why we need to work harder towards finding ways to turn down the heat in this increasingly partisan debate. Prof. Ioannis Ioannou Ioannis Io...

How are multilateral institutions like the IMF helping close the gender gap? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Dr. Ratna Sahay, IMF Senior Advisor on Gender, about what’s at stake when we talk about gender disparities, how the IMF’s first Strategy Toward Mainstreaming Gender advances this effort and why it’s vital that we focus on the multiplier effects to drive great, more inclusive economic...

If the carbon offset market is falling short, how do we fix it? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Professor Thomas Hale, Oxford University, about what’s at stake in net zero commitments, how to think about potential policy solutions and why it’s vital that we work towards a more robust regulatory system to oversee carbon offsets markets. Find the full transcript of this episode and the latest...

What’s at stake for hedge funds in the path to net zero? Jason Mitchell talks to Keith Guthrie, Deputy Chief Investment Officer at Cardano, about the role of short selling in sustainable investing, how to incorporate hedge funds and derivatives into net zero strategies, and why it’s vital we distinguish economic risk materiality from real world impact. Keith Guthrie is the Deputy Chief Investment...

Is market-driven short termism a convenient scapegoat? Jason Mitchell talks to Professor Mark J. Roe, Harvard Law School, about why short-termism may not be the problem it’s purported to be, how the narrative around short-termism has evolved over the past 30 years, and the potential policy solutions. Biography Mark J. Roe is a professor at Harvard Law School, where he teaches corporate law and cor...

Will the energy transition — now complicated by the drive to diversify energy sources away from Russia — lead to a full-blown energy crisis? Listen to Jason Mitchell talk to Rob West, CEO of Thunder Said Energy, about what’s at stake for the energy complex as we begin this diversification, the first and second order impacts of the conflict, and the trade-offs that we may face between energy securi...

How does sustainable finance regulation represent a sea change for investors? Listen to Jason Mitchell talk to Alain Deckers, European Commission Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA), about greenwashing, enforcement, materiality, regulatory harmonisation and how the European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Strategy is bringing transp...

Why is extreme heat the “silent killer” in climate change? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Dr. Eleni Myrivili, Chief Heat Officer for the city of Athens, Greece, about what the impact of heat stress means; how cities around the world are addressing it from a policy perspective and why it’s likely we’ll see more of these positions and more intervention going forward. Dr. Eleni Myrivili is the...

How are multilateral development banks leaning into sustainable finance? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Heike Reichelt, Head of Investor Relations and Sustainable Finance at the World Bank Treasury, about what the World Bank is doing to drive socio-environmental impact; how multilateral development banks are reshaping their climate-related investments post-COP 26; and why it’s vital that pr...

Is this latest energy shock a one-off event or a harbinger of more energy crises to come? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Alex Grant, Equinor’s Senior Vice President of Business Development and UK Country Manager, the energy transition; the trade-offs that we may face between security of supply, price volatility and affordability; and the emerging energy technologies like blue and green hydr...

How is climate finance reshaping COP negotiations? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, Senior Director for Climate Finance to US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, the most consequential outcomes of COP26; how to think about US domestic political dynamics around climate change; and why the financial sector is fundamental in the transition to a net zero glo...

When central bank policies are driven by their primary mandates, is there a case that these mandates should expand to incorporate the systemic risk that is climate change? And how will increasingly extreme climate events force policymakers’ actions or limit the monetary policy space available to central bank institutions?  Emanuel Moench, Head of Research at the Deutsche Bundesbank, joins Jason Mi...

How is regulatory change reshaping ESG investing? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Commissioner Allison Herren Lee of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, about the SEC’s evolving views around disclosure and materiality; its enforcement efforts; and the need to work towards greater harmonisation given the multitude of global disclosure frameworks. Find the full transcript of the episode...

Is the cynicism around net zero justified? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Chris Stark, Chief Executive of the UK’s Climate Change Committee discuss the world’s expectations going into COP26; what the Climate Change Committee is doing to advise the UK government on its net zero path; and why it’s vital that we frontload climate investment in order to turn strong words into strong action on t...

It is well established that climate change poses significant risks to businesses and future investments but these concerns are often intricately connected to biodiversity and nature-related issues. Elizabeth Mrema, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, and co-chair of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures joins the podcast to discuss how firm...

Is ESG outperformance coming to end? Is an ESG asset bubble brewing? Listen to Jason Mitchell talk with Abraham Lioui, Professor of Finance at EDHEC Business School, about his latest paper, Chasing the ESG Factor. In this deep-dive episode, the two discuss how investors may be mispricing ESG, the implications of identifying ESG risk premia and why more rigorous approaches are absolutely essential...

What does climate risk represent to the US financial system? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Commissioner Rostin Behnam, Acting Chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, about how the CFTC is thinking about climate risk, what those implications mean for derivatives markets and why well-developed carbon and carbon offset markets will support the transition to a net zero economy...

How do corporate boards work? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Dambisa Moyo, international economist and author, how the nature of board oversight is evolving, what that means in the context of greater pressure on socio-environmental issues and why calls to reform capitalism ultimately mean a turn towards a multi-stakeholder model and away from traditional shareholder-centrism. We're giving a...

The ability to absorb risk and be truly ‘additional’ in the world of impact investing sets development finance institutions apart from markets. Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Nick O’Donohoe, CEO of CDC Group, on how institutions are providing much-needed liquidity and capital during the pandemic and why investor action on climate and the Sustainable Development Goals (‘SDGs’) is vital to ad...

What does the race to net zero carbon emissions represent for the investment community? And how can investor network initiatives like the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (‘IIGCC’) develop meaningful investment frameworks to support it? Listen to Jason Mitchell discuss with Faith Ward, Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Brunel Pension Partnership, why it’s so important for inve...

How will the climate agenda change under the new Biden administration? Listen to Jason Mitchell talk with Alice Hill, Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations and former special assistant to President Obama, about how the White House will govern on climate through regulation and executive orders; what opportunities exist to reframe climate change as a nation...