Here comes the rain again - mitigating against climate risk | Podcast

Extreme weather events are reshaping the investment landscape. How can investors protect portfolios—and communities—from the rising physical risks of climate change?

Physical climate risk is no longer theoretical—it’s here. Floods, fires, and black-rain events are increasing in frequency and intensity, with real financial consequences. Simon Whistler outlines how investors are beginning to quantify and address these risks, yet highlights that fewer than one-third of PRI signatories currently report on physical climate risk metrics. Calvin Lee Kwan shares how Link Asset Management has moved from reactive recovery to proactive resilience—reducing insurance premiums by 11.7% and strengthening investor confidence in the process.

Detailed coverage

Physical climate risk today: More frequent and severe events—from typhoons in Hong Kong to floods in Europe—are causing major financial and operational losses.
Investor action gap: Only 29% of investors report on physical climate risk, compared with 50% in the real-assets space, showing the need for broader engagement.
Value protection and creation: Link’s sustainability strategy is built on two pillars—protecting existing value through resilience and creating new value through efficiency and stakeholder alignment.
From risk to return: Engaging insurers with clear, data-driven resilience metrics translated into measurable financial results, proving sustainability can deliver bottom-line benefits.
Community resilience: Floodwaters don’t stop at property boundaries. Link’s team now collaborates with neighbors, local authorities, and infrastructure managers to build district-level resilience—an approach that benefits whole communities.
Industry-wide change: Collaboration between investors, insurers, and policymakers is key to building consistent models, pricing resilience into valuations, and driving systemic adaptation.
Communication as a catalyst: For Calvin Lee Kwan, sustainability comes down to translating resilience into stakeholder-specific value—from stable returns for investors to safety and reliability for tenants.

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