Wrapping the Baltimore Forum
Over 40 Speakers across 30 Sessions!
The Forum on Climate Linked Economics continues to build crucial bridges between the scientific community and practitioners in various sectors. This year's event in Baltimore focused on fostering dialogue among climate scientists, economists, corporate leaders, risk managers, financial planners, and policymakers to tackle the pressing challenges posed by climate change. Stay tuned for ongoing stories and updates on our work!
The Baltimore Forum on Climate Linked Economics, part of the 2024 AMS Annual Meeting, took place from January 29 to February 1. We hosted a series of engaging sessions with industry experts and thought leaders, discussing the intersection of climate science and business.
Presidential Town Hall Meeting:
A significant highlight was the AMS Presidential Session, featuring a fireside chat on the Administration's priorities on climate and global change. The discussion centered around the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) and broader Biden Administration climate priorities.
Dr. Jane Lubchenco: Deputy Director for Climate and Environment, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Mark (Elliot) Papier: Principal Meteorologist, AT&T
Allison Crimmins: Director, National Climate Assessment
Solomon Hsiang: Chief Environmental Economist, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Brad Colman: President, American Meteorological Society
Stephen Bennett: Chief Climate Officer, The Demex Group and Chair of the Forum on Climate Linked Economics
This engaging session provided valuable insights into the government's strategic imperatives and coordination efforts in climate services, vital for climate-linked economics.
Keynote Speakers: In addition to our Presidential Session, there were four keynote addresses from leaders in various fields including insurance, law, climate impacts, and atmospheric rivers.
Steve Bowen, Chief Science Officer at Gallagher Re: Steve Bowen, with nearly two decades of experience in the insurance industry, emphasized the urgent need for a deeper understanding of severe convective storm (SCS) losses and other weather perils. He highlighted the role of scientific research in shaping business offerings and fostering public and private sector engagement to address evolving climate risks.
Robert Brammer, Chair of the American Bar Association’s Climate Change Committee and CEO of Brammer Technologies: Robert Brammer discussed the challenges and opportunities in developing climate-related banking regulations. He emphasized the need for timely action to mitigate climate risks while addressing significant uncertainties in understanding these changes, offering insights into scientific, technical, legal, and regulatory aspects.
Allison Crimmins, Director of the National Climate Assessment: Allison Crimmins provided a comprehensive overview of the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), detailing the risks and impacts of climate change on various sectors in the United States. She highlighted the importance of accessible climate information for decision-makers and demonstrated the resources available through NCA5, including interactive tools and Spanish-translated chapters.
F. Martin Ralph, Director, Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego: F. Martin Ralph discussed the critical role of atmospheric rivers (ARs) in California's water management, focusing on the Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) approach. He highlighted scientific breakthroughs that have enhanced AR forecast accuracy, which is essential for improving resilience to drought and flood in a changing climate.
In total, we led 30 different sessions including over 40 speakers to catalyze the discourse on climate-linked economics, encourage collaborative efforts to address the pressing challenges posed by climate change, and promote risk management and informed decision making across various sectors.
Contributors Included:
Stephen Bennett, Demex
Scott Weaver, CLIMET Consulting, LLC
Di Chen, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero / Bloomberg LP
Malaquias Pena, University of Connecticut
Charles Paxton, Channelside Weather LLC
Steve Bowen, Chief Science Officer at Gallagher Re
Joshua Hacker, Jupiter Intelligence
Brian Castine, Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Edward Kearns, First Street Foundation
Patrick Harr, Jupiter Intelligence
R. Saravanan, Texas A&M University
M. Rencurrel, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Hsin-I Chang, University of Arizona
Gan Zhang, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Alexander Andrianov, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Robert Brammer, American Bar Association’s Climate Change Committee / Brammer Technologies
Dr. Adam Sobel, Columbia University
Dr. R. Jisung Park, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Sarah Kapnick, NOAA
Nels Ylitalo, FactSet
Manda Adams, National Science Foundation
Alexandra Isern, National Science Foundation
Erwin Gianchandani, National Science Foundation
Jennifer Arrigo, Department of Energy
Genevieve Lind, NOAA
Maggie Yancey, NASA
Benjamin Toms, Intersphere
Kristin Wegner, NREL
Grant Buster, NREL
Jeff Massey, Amazon
Sarah Siegel, NOAA
S. Ping Ho, National Taiwan University
Marcus Sarofim, EPA
Allison Crimmins, Director of the National Climate Assessment
Dr. Jane Lubchenco, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Solomon Hsiang, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Brad Colman, AMS President
Mark Papier, AT&T
Jason Cordeira, UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes
Mark Bove, Munich Reinsurance America, Inc.
Ann Kosmal, U.S. Global Change Research Program
Karl Critz, Salient Predictions
F. Martin Ralph, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
Jon Davis, Everstream Analytics
David D’Arcangelo, Susquehanna International Group
On behalf of the organizers and the AMS Financial Weather and Climate Risk Management Committee, I’d like to personally thank each one of these folks for volunteering their time and travel to kick off 2024's series of keynote speakers, panel discussions, and small-group meetings to network and grow the link between the meteorology/climate communities and the broader community of economists, corporate executives, risk managers, financial planners, insurance professionals, and technology leaders. THANK YOU!!
