On December 9, nearly 100 attendees joined Values at Risk 2025: Nature, Climate, and the Systemic Risk to Our Economic Future, a virtual IBES forum held both via Zoom and at an in-person watch party at 85 Waterman Street. 

The panel brought together leaders from the reinsurance industry, climate policy, and environmental finance to examine how environmental volatility is driving profound shifts in economic risk. 

From record-breaking floods to California wildfires exceeding $250 billion in damages this year alone, speakers underscored the rising financial consequences of climate disruption. Major insurers and reinsurers have already warned of mounting threats—from collapsing insurance markets to supply-chain instability—as nature-related risks accelerate. Moderated by Ricardo Bayon, adjunct professor of Environment and Society, the discussion featured:

• Guillermo Franco (Guy Carpenter),
• Nuin-Tara Key (California Forward), and
• Alisa Valderrama (FutureProof Technologies).

Panelists highlighted new tools and frameworks that can help financial institutions better anticipate and price climate and nature-related risks. They also emphasized the opportunity to redefine nature not as an externality but as a core pillar of economic resilience—one that must be integrated into decision-making across sectors.

As climate impacts intensify, speakers agreed: building a more stable economic future will require transforming how markets assess value, manage uncertainty, and incorporate the realities of a changing planet.

Save the Date: March 7, 2026 — Banking on Nature

Join us during Brown’s first Climate Week for Banking on Nature: Sustainable Finance and the Environment, a series of panels exploring how nature is reshaping the financial landscape. Leaders from finance, policy, science, and Indigenous communities will discuss emerging risks, opportunities, and innovations in sustainable finance. 

Save the date