Investing in a Sustainable Future Symposium

Session One: The Financial Risks of Climate Change

Panelists will discuss how financial markets currently assess climate risk as well as potential measures to ensure better incorporation of climate considerations.

Speakers

Alice C. Hill
David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and Environment, Council on Foreign Relations; Author, Building a Resilient TomorrowHow to Prepare for the Coming Climate Disruption; @Alice_C_Hill
Carolyn Kousky
Executive Director, Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, University of Pennsylvania
Anne Van Praagh
Managing Director and Head, Credit Strategy and Research, Moody’s Corporation

Presider

Helima Croft
Managing Director and Global Head of Commodity Strategy, RBC Capital Markets; CFR Member

Introductory Remarks

Richard Haass
President, Council on Foreign Relations

Transcript

HAASS: Well, thank you, Carrie, and thank you all. And welcome to the opening session of this year’s Hauser Symposium. The subject is “Investing in a Sustainable Future,” and I will get to the panel in just a minute. But I wanted to thank Rita Hauser and the Hauser Foundation for doing this, but I also want to give a little bit of context here in a couple of ways.

This is the Council’s centennial year. And as you know, we were slow in some areas in terms of our membership. One of the areas we were slow was when it came to the—to women as members of the Council on Foreign Relations. We got to it belatedly, roughly half-a-century ago, and in large part it was due to one Rita Hauser. And we tell this story of how this came about in a book that all members will be receiving in a matter of weeks, so I won’t—it’s like a spoiler alert. I don’t want to step on the punchline. But let me just say that while it would have happened anyhow, it would not have happened when it happened. And it was totally fitting, therefore, that Rita was...

Session Two: A Conversation With Larry Fink

BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink will discuss the investment risks posed by climate change; BlackRock’s plans to further integrate environmental, social, and governance factors into its investment processes; and how investors and businesses can adapt to the challenges posed by a changing climate.

Speaker

Laurence D. Fink
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BlackRock; Member, Board of Directors, Council on Foreign Relations

Presider

Mark R. Tercek
Advisor to Private Sector Leaders on Environmental Strategies; Former CEO, Nature Conservancy (2008–2019); Former Partner and Managing Director, Goldman Sachs (1984–2008); CFR Member

Introductory Remarks

James M. Lindsay
Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair, Council on Foreign Relations

Transcript

LINDSAY: Welcome to the second session of the Council on Foreign Relations virtual symposium on Investing in a Sustainable Future. I am James Lindsay, senior vice president, director of studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg chair here at the Council.

I would like to welcome Rita Hauser who is in our virtual audience to this session. This symposium has been made possible by the generous support of the Hauser Foundation. Over the years, the Hauser Foundation has supported more than a dozen Council symposia on topics ranging from organized crime to the rebalance to Asia to the future of democracy. You can find the videos and transcripts of all of these events on the Council’s website, cfr.org.

Yesterday’s panel for Investing in a Sustainable Future discussed the financial risks of climate change. Today’s discussion features Larry Fink, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of BlackRock and a member of the Council’s board of directors.

I would now like to hand the reins over to Mark Tercek, who is today’s presider. Mark is an advisor to private sector leaders on environmental strategies. From 2008 to 2019, he was the chief executive officer of the Nature Conservancy. Before that, he was partner and...