Making Resilience Bankable: The Future of Climate Finance

From #NY_ClimateWeek with hope: adaptation’s innovation such as #ABM proves #insurability is #bankability.

Yes, the political climate often feels heavy, sometimes even discouraging. But this week reminded me that amidst the gloom, a brighter current is rising: the growing momentum for climate adaptation finance.

I witnessed conversations where resilience was no longer dismissed as charity or buried in CSR lines, but recognized as survival, fiduciary duty, and opportunity. That gives me hope.

In my keynote at the #UGIH Systemic Innovation Workshop, I’ve striven to passionately add my voice to this shift: business must step up and lead on adaptation and resilience — not out of benevolence, but out of sound investment and risk management.

I also joined a panel on “How innovative financial instruments can be used to promote adaptation and resilience,” skillfully moderated by Freedom-Kai Phillips. The exchange with Alain Beauvillard Alipour (GCF) and Laura Fox (Streetlife Ventures) reinforced my conviction that innovative finance — including the Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) — must ensure adaptation benefits reach local communities where they are most needed.

Another compelling moment was the session on “Fair finance: unlocking revenue from the world’s heavy polluters” with Benoît Faraco, Friederike Röder, and Tina Stege, which explored how global solidarity levies could generate new flows of climate finance. My key takeaway: the ABM is fit for purpose. It is the instrument that can translate solidarity levies into certified, measurable, sustained, and replicable adaptation outcomes. With ABM, every dollar raised becomes visible and accountable — with ex-post CABs regenerating grants and ex-ante CABs making new projects bankable while crowding in private capital.

📄 Full keynote remarks available in the first comment below.