David Carlin On Why Climate Disclosures Aren’t Enough

Everyone who’s anyone in climate knows David Carlin.

David has been at the forefront of climate risk management and disclosure since the first rush of industry- and UN-led initiatives swept across the financial sector in the run-up to COP26.

Over many years working with the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), he had a front row seat to how banks and institutional investors wrestled with the implications of climate change on their businesses and the wider economy.

Now, he’s leading his own global consultancy focused on sustainability challenges: D. A. Carlin & Company. Together with his team, David is helping central banks, financial institutions, and entire governments get to grips with climate risk management and disclosure.

In this episode of Climate Proofers, David sits down with Louie to offer his candid assessment of the state of climate-related financial disclosures, and explain why he thinks mandated reporting alone isn’t enough to drive essential action on adaptation and resilience.

He then digs into the evolving climate-financial regulatory landscape in light of the Trump administration’s harsh attitude towards environmental programs and Europe’s wide-ranging effort to streamline its own sustainability rules.

Beyond regulation, David shares his thoughts on market-driven shifts in the climate risk landscape, and his experiences working with climate risk startups including Climate X and Climate Aligned, offering his perspective on what makes for a successful company in this rapidly growing space.

Listen below, download from the Podcasts page on Climate Proof, or tune in via Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

We talk about:

👉 The limits of climate disclosures and the challenges translating climate data into information that financial institutions and corporates will act on

👉 Why engagement in adaptation and resilience remains underdeveloped compared to net-zero and decarbonization efforts, despite increasing climate-driven shocks

👉 How a rollback of climate regulatory efforts in the US and potential changes to European sustainability regulations could create confusion for businesses

👉 Why private equity and insurers are leading the way in climate risk assessment, and how companies are learning to integrate resilience into their strategies

👉 What characteristics make for a successful climate risk intelligence company

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Thanks for listening!

Louie Woodall
Editor