‘Climate change has significant financial implications’

There are serious risks tied to climate change and its impact on supply chains, commodity prices and even credit ratings. That is why it is so important that the financial industry moves on quantitative approaches in formalising standards, delegates at the Quantitative Climate Finance Workshop (QCFW) heard recently in Johannesburg.

There were engaged discussions at AIFMRM’s Quantitative Climate Finance Workshop (QCFW), held on 25 November 2025 at the Radisson Blu Sandton in Johannesburg. Delegates attended from AIFMRM and specific areas of the financial services to discuss the climate-related transitions underway in the industry – from carbon pricing and climate stress tests to green bonds.

“Since the Paris Agreement, significant attention has been given to climate change, but much of that focus has been qualitative,” said Christine van der Walt, Head of CIB Risk Data, Models and Innovation at Nedbank. “With regulators and the IFRS Board now formalising standards, it is critical for the financial industry to advance toward a more quantitative approach.”

The transition has been gaining traction slowly – but it is now picking up pace. This creates the opportunity to quantify the impact of climate change on financial performance. It’s a shift that opens the door for significant collaboration between academia and institutions to create a bridge between theory and implementation, Christine added. It is vitally important because it creates a clear economic signal for decarbonisation, said Dr Benno Guenther, founder of Blue Guardian and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at AIFMRM.

“Biodiversity and nature-related risks are emerging as material financial risks,” Benno said. “Loss of ecosystems affects supply chains, commodity prices, and even credit ratings. Investors and regulators are starting to recognise that nature is not just a moral issue. Finally, climate scenario analysis and stress testing give institutions a forward-looking lens.”

Delegates had focused conversations on these topics during the roundtable session led by Andrea Macrina, Professor at University College London and AIFMRM Honorary Professor,   AIFMRM Adjunct Associate Professors Tanja Tippet and Tom McWalter, Paramesan Mathen, Head of Institutional Sales for sub-Saharan Africa at HSBC, Christine van der Walt, and Benno Guenther.  

“The conversations didn’t just deal with theory; they focused on actionable steps,” Benno said. “Looking ahead, I see these dialogues driving real innovation in the space of quantitative climate finance.”

At AIFMRM, workshops like these will play a critical part in both local and global quantitative climate finance-related transitions. “In the meantime, we are grateful to all who played a part in this year’s QCFW, our sponsors, roundtable hosts, organisational team, and of course the practitioners and academics who made this workshop both pertinent and memorable,” said AIFMRM Director, Prof David Taylor.

He concluded, “Climate finance is critical to the sustainability of the world’s financial markets, and it is imperative that we advance research in the field.”