Seeing the Dangers Ahead, Part II - Risky Business: An Essential Introduction to Climate Financial Risks and the Role of Regulators
- Tuesday, February 15, 2022
- Online Event
The State Energy & Environmental Impact Center, Woodwell Climate Research Center, and the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General hosted a three-part virtual event series that provided essential information and tools to help regulators and advocates understand the latest available public and private data about physical, financial, and transition climate risks, how regulators might address key data gaps, and how to harness climate risk data for government decision-making. See Part I here, and Part III here.
This panel provided a primer on climate financial risk, its relationship to physical risk, the role of investors, and opportunities for regulators to advance disclosure standards and industry safeguards.
Keynote Speaker
Robert J. Jackson, Jr.
Professor of Law, New York University; Former Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Robert J. Jackson, Jr. is Professor of Law at the New York University School of Law. He served as Commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017 to 2020. Prior to his nomination to the Commission, Professor Jackson taught at Columbia Law School, served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Treasury Department, practiced law at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and was an investment banker at Bear, Stearns. Jackson holds two undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business, an MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School, and a JD from Harvard Law School.
Panel Discussion
Dr. Yue (Nina) Chen
Executive Deputy Superintendent, Climate Division, New York State Department of Financial Services
Dr. Yue (Nina) Chen is the inaugural Executive Deputy Superintendent of Climate Risk Division at the New York State Department of Financial Services. Nina was appointed as the inaugural Director of Sustainability and Climate Initiatives in May 2020. Nina also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Climate Risk Steering Group at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors. Nina received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Certificate in Conservation and Environmental Sustainability from Columbia University.
Wendy Cromwell
Vice Chair, Wellington Management
Wendy Cromwell is a senior member of Wellington’s management team and acts as an aide to the chairman and CEO with respect to external affairs of the organization. She is also the Director, Sustainable Investment setting the research agenda and strategy for the firm’s sustainable investment practice, including impact, climate, and long-term engagement strategies. Wendy received her MBA, with honors, from Vanderbilt University and her BBA, summa cum laude, from the University of Mississippi. She also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Dave McGlinchey
Chief of External Affairs, Woodwell Climate Research Center
Dave McGlinchey oversees Woodwell Climate Research Center’s partnerships and policy outreach. As a part of his work, he regularly engages congressional climate leaders in Washington, D.C., and has represented the Woodwell Center at UN Climate Change Conferences in Marrakesh, Morocco; Bonn, Germany; and Madrid, Spain. He is a journalist and lawyer, and before joining Woodwell he worked on communications and government relations for global biotechnology company Novozymes. He received his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest University, and his law degree from Suffolk University Law School.
Marilyn Waite
Managing Director, Climate Finance Fund
Marilyn Waite leads the Climate Finance Fund. She has worked across four continents in renewable and nuclear energy, and climate modeling and investment. Author of Sustainability at Work: careers that make a difference, Marilyn’s writing has been featured in the Financial Times, Forbes, and GreenBiz, where she serves as editor at large. Marilyn previously led the energy practice at Village Capital, and worked at Project Drawdown and Orano (formerly AREVA). She holds a Master’s Degree with distinction in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering, magna cum laude, from Princeton University.
Moderator
Madison Condon
Associate Professor Boston University School of Law
Madison Condon joined Boston University School of Law as an associate professor in July 2020. She teaches Environmental Law, Corporations, and a seminar on climate risk and financial institutions. A focus of her recent research is climate change’s relationship to corporate governance, market risk, and regulation. She is also interested in the use and manipulation of science and economics in administrative law. Professor Condon’s scholarship has appeared in the Washington Law Review, the Virginia Environmental Law Journal, Land Use Policy, and the Review of Environmental Economics and Policy.