The Risky Business Project, in partnership with the Stanford Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, hosted ‘Investing in a New Climate,’ an event with Tom Steyer, investor, philanthropist and clean energy advocate, and Robert E. Rubin, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Over one hundred senior executives, investors, risk managers, city officials and civil society leaders attended the event at the Bank of America Tower in New York, Wednesday June 3rd.

The panel discussion, moderated by Curtis Ravenel of Bloomberg LP, focused on the economic risks of climate change and opportunities for investors to navigate climate exposure within their portfolios.

During the event, Secretary Rubin argued that “climate change is a material risk for business.” “The financial system must account for risks and costs of climate change,” Mr. Steyer said, and these risks “should be disclosed to investors.”

By not recognizing the risk, Secretary Rubin cautioned, “investors may take a tremendous hit.” He went on to call for more companies to disclose their material exposure to climate risk, including along their supply chains and through potential stranded assets.

Mr. Steyer then asked investors to make an honest assessment about the risk posed by climate change to business and factor these into their investment calculations. This was crucial, he said, as “climate change is the existential issue of our age.”

The event formed part of the Risky Business Project’s ongoing effort to engage business leaders, encouraging them to lead by reducing the risk of dangerous climate change.