Unlocking Climate Finance: How Insurance, Banking, and Investing Can Shift Trillions

Climate change isn’t just an environmental challenge—it’s a financial one. Trillions of dollars move through financial systems every day, shaping economies and determining the trajectory of our planet. The key question is: how can business leaders, CFOs, and financial decision-makers harness these financial flows to accelerate the transition to a clean economy—without introducing unnecessary risk?

This SOCAP panel will explore the biggest levers in climate finance, with a specific focus on the often-overlooked yet critical role of insurance. The insurance industry controls nearly $7 trillion in annual revenue and has invested over $600 billion in fossil fuels—making it one of the most powerful forces in either accelerating or stalling the transition to a clean economy.

Brad Stevenson, CEO of Premiums for the Planet, will dive into the transformative potential of insurance in climate finance and share how businesses can leverage their risk management decisions to drive systemic change. Dan Chu, Executive Director of the Sierra Club Foundation, will highlight the importance of shifting financial flows away from fossil fuels through Shifting Trillions, an initiative dedicated to redirecting the vast sums currently propping up fossil fuels into sustainable solutions. Zach Stein, CEO of Carbon Collective, will bring the investment perspective, sharing how financial portfolios—especially retirement accounts—can be reallocated to drive climate impact while maintaining strong financial returns.