DeepSummary
The transcript discusses the role of the global bond market and insurance industry in financing and enabling fossil fuel projects. It introduces Ulf Erlandsson, a former bond trader who is now exposing deals that fund carbon-intensive activities through his nonprofit, the Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute. Erlandsson shares his experience of shorting bonds of a Swedish coal company after realizing the environmental risks of their assets.
The episode also highlights the efforts of Ilana Sulakshana from the Rainforest Action Network, who campaigns against insurance companies for underwriting fossil fuel infrastructure projects. Specific examples are provided, such as the campaigns against the Adani coal mine in Australia and the challenges these projects face in securing financing and insurance due to climate activism.
The discussion emphasizes the significant role of the bond market and insurance industry in enabling the fossil fuel economy, often hidden from public scrutiny. Climate activists are increasingly targeting these sectors through pressure campaigns, aiming to make it harder for polluting companies to access capital and insurance. Regulatory efforts, such as climate risk disclosure and potential policy changes, are also explored.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The global bond market and insurance industry play a crucial role in financing and enabling the expansion of fossil fuel projects, often hidden from public scrutiny.
- Climate activists like Ulf Erlandsson and Ilana Sulakshana are targeting these financial enablers through pressure campaigns, exposing deals that fund carbon-intensive activities, and challenging companies to align with climate goals.
- Specific examples, such as the campaigns against the Adani coal mine in Australia, demonstrate the potential impact of financial activism in making fossil fuel projects economically unviable.
- Regulatory efforts, such as climate risk disclosure and potential policy changes, are being explored to curb the financing of fossil fuel projects by banks and insurers.
- The insurance industry's reputation, ability to attract young talent, and workforce shortages are being leveraged by activists to pressure them to change their practices regarding fossil fuel investments.
- Individual experiences and motivations, like Ulf Erlandsson's encounter with the Wattenfall case, play a role in driving activism and exposing the financial enablers of fossil fuel projects.
- The bond market and insurance industry, while enabling the fossil fuel economy, are also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and are adjusting their risk assessments and pricing accordingly.
- Pressure campaigns and activism are gaining traction, but significant challenges remain in fully aligning the global financial system with climate goals and preventing the financing of new fossil fuel infrastructure.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “It's a life of starvation and high risk to be a bond vigilante. So it's not something you have as a everyday go to job description, usually.“ by Ulf Erlandsson
- “Insurance may seem like a niche topic for climate activists, but it is actually an invisible linchpin of the fossil fuel economy.“ by Ilana Sulakshana
- “It hasn't been shut, finally. But we hope eventually that they will make the decision that it's not economically sane to actually continue with that project.“ by Ulf Erlandsson
- “I think what I saw back in the Wattenfall case back in 2015, which really lit the flame inside of me, was such a big hypocrisy and sort of an arrogance of a dimension which I hadn't really perceived before. And that made me really, really interested in this.“ by Ulf Erlandsson
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Episode Information
A Matter of Degrees
Dr. Leah Stokes, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson
8/16/21