Voice of finance sector encourages banks to embrace climate data to anticipate extreme events and transition their businesses.
- Bob Wigley joins Climate X to help Britain’s financial sector build resilience against climate change.
- As record heatwaves continue, extreme weather events predicted to be the next ‘mega-shock’ to hit global economy.
- Climate X predicts how climate disasters will impact banks’ assets decades before they happen to help them prepare.
Throughout his career, Russ has been engaged in promoting innovation to meet banking challenges in business, credit portfolio management, and enterprise risk management.
His experience includes both domestic and international leadership roles including as a member of the BNP Paribas Global Risk Executive Committee. Russ has also been a senior advisor to CEOs and other senior executives in financial services related firms.
Bob Wigley, Chairman of UK Finance joins climate risk analytics provider, Climate X, to help banks anticipate the impacts of climate change and build resilience.
In his role as Chair of UK Finance, Bob has represented the UK banking and finance sector with the government and regulators for the last 6 years. His appointment as an advisor to Climate X will support the sector in building climate resilience and further help counter criticism that the sector is ‘significantly underestimating’ climate risk.
Climate events are occurring more frequently, posing a critical risk to leading financial institutions.
July 2023 saw wildfires break out across large areas of Europe due to record-breaking heat waves. With analysts predicting extreme weather events will be the next ‘mega-shock’ to hit the global economy, forecasting climate risk has never been more critical.
Bob was formerly the Chairman of Merrill Lynch for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and was a member of Court of the Bank of England during the global financial crisis. He brings over 35 years of experience in the banking and finance sector to Climate X as it continues to scale its technology for leading financial institutions and commercial property firms worldwide.
Climate X created a digital “twin” of the Earth, Spectra, which projects how extreme weather events - including flooding, extreme heat, storms, or landslides - can damage properties, infrastructure or assets under different emissions scenarios. This helps firms such as banks prepare for events and pivot their long-term business strategy. Spectra also supports them to meet the regulatory demands of Central Banks and Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures (TCFD).
When any new wave of technology comes to market, there’s always one company that looks like the clear winner, and I believe Climate X is leading the pack. Spectra is the most comprehensive, easily accessible risk management solution available on the market - there’s nothing like it."
Bob Wigley, Board Advisor at Climate X, on joining the business
“When I was first introduced to Lukky and the team, I knew they had something unique. Climate X has built a solid platform at a time when the financial sector is having to consider its impact on the environment more carefully. Spectra is the perfect tool to help financial institutions assess their climate exposure, and future-proof their portfolios.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with the Climate X team - sharing my knowledge of the finance sector, and helping the business strengthen its position as industry leaders in the climate tech space.”
Beyond his advisory role at Climate X, Bob has for the last three years been Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland and for a decade been a Visiting Fellow of Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and an Honorary Fellow of Cambridge University’s Judge Business School. He is also an entrepreneur, philanthropist and investor, backing founders in cutting edge technology businesses.
CEO and co-founder at Climate X Lukky Ahmed said: “Bob's appointment at Climate X marks an important step forward in helping Britain’s financial institutions anticipate climate risks and build resilience. We want to ensure that our data is meaningful and holds value at the right resolution, in the right places, and for the right use cases.
Bob’s appointment strengthens our strategy to develop a solution that can be trusted and used by the banking industry.
Lukky Ahmed, CEO & Co-Founder at Climate X
His expertise will be invaluable as we scale our product and navigate the financial services regulatory landscape. It’s a true milestone and honour to welcome him to Climate X’s team."
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About Climate X
Climate X is the world’s only fully integrated climate risk platform, helping financial institutions to price, manage and build resilience to climate change impacts on the built environment. They provide climate financial risk data to global banks and asset managers, defending global economic stability against the impacts of climate change.
Climate X is redefining resilience against climate change. Their innovative solutions have transformed the approach of businesses towards climate challenges, enabling them to build and retrofit structures for a sustainable future.
By translating carbon emissions pathways into financial impacts, they help drive a significant shift in the financial sector. Banks and asset managers are now using their insights to drive positive societal change, transforming investment strategies, risk assessments, and preparation for the financial effects of extreme weather.
They are reinforced by notable figures such as David Carlin, Robert Wigley, and Jackie Bennet OBE who serve as advisors and are supported by CommerzVentures, Pale Blue Dot and Bluewire Capital as some of its investors. Climate X has received numerous awards, including FinTech Germany, Chartis’ Rising Star, and Deloitte’s Fast 50.
Physical Risk Data
Climate risk data is crucial for assessing the long-term climate effects and enabling stakeholders to develop informed adaptation strategies. These strategies could include enhancing building resilience or revising insurance policies, which help maintain property values and contribute to the overall stability of the property market.
You can estimate the asset-specific financial losses from acute and chronic physical hazards with Spectra, the climate risk platform developed by Climate X. Plus, the innovative Adapt module allows you to determine the ROI of taking pre-emptive climate adaptation action based on a range of 22 different interventions.
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