Climate Risk Summit 2020 

Measuring, managing and mitigating the threat from climate change 
October 12th-14th 2020 • London 
 
 
Climate change will reshape every aspect of the global economy, from politics to migration, 
financing to supply chains. Markets are demanding greater transparency on the climate risks 
that firms face. So too are regulators: in 2019 the Bank of England announced plans for 
climate stress tests for banks. Such demands will only increase. 
 
Over two-and-a-half days,​ The Economist ​will ask what role governments and central banks 
should play in embedding climate-change data into financial decision-making. How can 
companies overcome the first-mover disadvantage associated with publishing their risk 
exposures? Does technology reinvent the rules of risk management? And how can the public 
and private sectors work together to combat what has become the greatest risk of all? 
 
   

© 2020 The Economist Events  

This is a confidential draft programme for the conference mentioned in this document. All topics and speakers are indicative and 
subject to change. 
 
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Monday October 12th 2020 
 
Data deep dive focus day 
 
1.00 pm  REGISTRATION OPENS 

1.30 pm  CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS 

1.40 pm  KEYNOTE INTERVIEW  

1.55 pm  MAD ABOUT DATA 

  Accessing “decision-relevant” data to inform risk planning is top of mind for 
businesses. It has in turn become a big business opportunity, as many strive for 
first-mover advantages. What data are out there? Where are the current data 
blind spots? How accurate are the best models in the market? 

2.35 pm   CASE STUDY 

2.50 pm  DECISIONS AND DEEP UNCERTAINTY 

  How should data be built into an organisation’s decision architecture? What are 
the most effective analytic tools and platforms to mine the available data? 
How do you balance specificity with taking a birds-eye view of the key issues? 

3.30 pm  BREAK & SPEED NETWORKING 

4.15 pm  AUDIENCE POLLING 

4.25 pm  VIP INTERVIEW: INNOVATION AND ANALYTICS 

4.40 pm  THE FUTURE OF THE KNOWLEDGE LANDSCAPE  

How is technology transforming available data sets? What is the revolution in 
highly localised real-time data that is being brought about by a proliferation of 
sensors and satellite democratisation? 

5.20 pm  CASE STUDY 

5.35 pm  DATA STANDARDISATION 

How are data being standardised so that they can be analysed and 
compared between data sources? What other kinds of data—such as 
migration data—need to be incorporated into climate risk data? And how 
are climate data being democratised? 

6.15 pm  COCKTAIL RECEPTION 

7.15 pm  CLOSE OF DAY ONE 

   

© 2020 The Economist Events  

This is a confidential draft programme for the conference mentioned in this document. All topics and speakers are indicative and 
subject to change. 
 
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Tuesday October 13th 2020 
 
7.45 am  REGISTRATION 

8.30 am  OPENING REMARKS 

8.40 am  OPENING KEYNOTE INTERVIEW 

8.55 am  OPENING PANEL: A CRUCIAL DECADE 

Businesses worldwide have woken up to the risks posed by climate change at 
a time when public concern is mounting rapidly. This panel will set out the 
three main risk areas: physical, transition and liability risk. How are leaders 
from business, policymakers and regulators responding to the challenges 
they face in each of these domains? 

9.35 am  VIP INTERVIEW 

9.50 am  THE FUTURE OF DISCLOSURES 

How are companies responding to TCFD? How can metrics be standardised 
to make disclosures comparable and understandable? How should 
companies build upon their disclosures to translate ambition into action? And 
in what ways has the response to TCFD differed across industries? 

10.30 am  Exhibition and networking 

11.45 am  BANKS RESPONDING TO CLIMATE RISK  ROUNDTABLES 

12.00 pm  BANK LENDING IN TRANSITION 

Banks are increasingly halting 
financing to new fossil-fuel projects in 
response to growing investor 
pressure. The financial sector also 
sees opportunities in financing 
alternative energy sources. How are 
regulators driving these shifts? What 
are the regulatory pressures? What 
new financial instruments are 
available for “brown industries”? 

12.40 pm  VIP INTERVIEW  ROUNDTABLES 

12.55 pm  INSURANCE: PRICING RISK POLICIES 

Insurers have been ahead of the 
game in assessing the risks of climate 
change but face challenges in 
pricing, data and modelling. There 
are also opportunities as the need for 
protection rises. What are the 
innovations in product portfolio and 
policy pricing? 

1.30 pm  Lunch and exhibition 

2.30 pm  ASSESSING REGIONAL RISK   

© 2020 The Economist Events  

This is a confidential draft programme for the conference mentioned in this document. All topics and speakers are indicative and 
subject to change. 
 
4 
 How do you put a figure on the 
overall climate risk of a city, country 
or region? How are data 
incorporated into the assessment of 
sovereign risk? How are investors 
responding, and are we seeing an 
impact on sovereign flows? 

3.10 pm  CASE STUDY  CASE STUDY 

3.25 pm  FINANCING INFRASTRUCTURE  FUELLING A LOW-CARBON ECONOMY 

Extreme weather events, increasingly  Energy incumbents are making 
frequent and ferocious, will result in  increasingly bold pledges towards 
damage to existing infrastructure and  carbon neutrality. How will they 
lead to new preventative measures.  manage that transition?  
What are investors asking of owners, 
builders and operators? What is 
being demanded now in terms of 
environmental compliance? 

4.00 pm  Exhibition and networking 

4.30 pm  KEYNOTE INTERVIEW  KEYNOTE INTERVIEW 

4.45 pm  CASE STUDY  CASE STUDY 

5.00 pm  MANAGING THE MESSAGE  RISK LITIGATION 

Companies’ approach to climate risk  How could legal risks around climate 
has become an integral part of  change unfold? How might 
investor relations, instead of simply a  shareholders take action against 
PR issue. How are companies  corporate directors who are not 
adapting organisational structures to  taking sufficient action or are 
centralise and empower staff dealing  misreporting data? Where could 
with climate risk?  litigation come from? 

5.40 pm  Exhibition drinks 

6.30 pm  Close of day two 

   

© 2020 The Economist Events  

This is a confidential draft programme for the conference mentioned in this document. All topics and speakers are indicative and 
subject to change. 
 
5 
Wednesday October 14th 2020 
 
8.15 am  REGISTRATION 

9.00 am  OPENING REMARKS AND POLLING 

9.10 am  EAST VERSUS WEST 

Emerging markets face the biggest risks from climate change and are also 
the least prepared for it. How can resilience to climate change be 
strengthened in low- and middle-income countries? 

9.45 am  KEYNOTE INTERVIEW 

10.00 am  CLOSING THE​ G

​ AP 
Where are the areas of greatest unmet need around climate risk? How are 
these being addressed by data and analytical services, corporate strategists, 
policymakers and regulators? 

10.30 am  Exhibition and networking 

11.45 am  VIP INTERVIEW  VIP INTERVIEW 

12.00 pm  THE COMPLETE PACKAGE  UNTANGLING THE SUPPLY CHAIN 

How are manufacturing companies  Beyond global infrastructure 
forecasting resource scarcity?  footprints, how are the companies in 
supply chains affected by climate 
risk? How should physical and 
transition risks be integrated into 
supply-chain management? How 
should organisations work with their 
suppliers to measure the risk in their 
supply chain? What KPIs should be 
set to measure risk management? 
And how should companies assess 
exposure within their supply chain? 

12.40 pm  CASE STUDY   CASE STUDY 

12.55 pm  TRANSPORT  INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES 

How are airlines responding to  What is the future of batteries and 
investor and public pressure to  micro-grids? Is urban infrastructure 
reduce their carbon footprint?  able to accommodate new 
  innovations such as charging 
technologies? 

1.30 pm  Lunch and exhibition 

2.30 pm  CLIMATE RISK VIDEO 

2.35 pm  MEASURING PORTFOLIO RISK 

3.10 pm  CLOSING VIP INTERVIEW 

3.25 pm  A DECADE OF ACTION 

© 2020 The Economist Events  

This is a confidential draft programme for the conference mentioned in this document. All topics and speakers are indicative and 
subject to change. 
 
6 
 As climate risk transforms business strategies, how will rhetoric turn into 
action? How transferable and scalable are these best practices across 
different industries? And who will be the winners and losers?  

4.00 pm  Close of conference 

 
 

© 2020 The Economist Events  

This is a confidential draft programme for the conference mentioned in this document. All topics and speakers are indicative and 
subject to change. 
 
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