Climate and Finance Research Cluster

Climate and Finance Conference 2025 – 5 November 2025
2025-10-09 08:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London)
The Climate and Finance Research Cluster is pleased to share details of the upcoming Climate and Finance Conference 2025, which will take place on Wednesday 5th November 2025 at the ICMA Centre, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
Held in association with the Met Office’s Energy-Climate Strategic Forum, the conference will explore the theme:

“Climate, Finance, and the Energy Transition: Risks, Innovation, and Global Impact.”

The event will feature a keynote speech by Professor Jason A. Lowe OBE (University of Leeds and Met Office), panel discussions with leading experts, and research presentations spanning climate science, energy systems, and financial markets.
🔗 You can view the full preliminary programme here.
We warmly encourage all colleagues, researchers, and students with an interest in the intersection of climate, finance, and energy to take part in this exciting cross-disciplinary event.

2025 Climate and Finance Conference - Climate, Finance, and the Energy Transition: Risks, Innovation, and Global Impact
2025-06-26 08:00 - 17:00
Call for Papers & Abstracts
Conference Theme: Climate, Finance, and the Energy Transition: Risks, Innovation, and Global Impact
We invite submissions for the forthcoming Climate and Finance Conference 2025, in association with the Met Office‘s Energy-Climate Strategic Forum, we seek to bring together researchers, policy experts, financial professionals, and industry practitioners to explore the critical intersection of climate change, finance, and the global energy transition.
The conference aims to foster dialogue across disciplines, promote cutting-edge research, and surface actionable insights for navigating the fast-evolving energy landscape in a warming world. Presenters should be mindful that many in the audience may be non-specialists, and are requested to describe the relevance of their work in an accessible way to as wide an audience as possible, particularly focussing on the energy-finance-weather/climate cross-over. Submissions structured as “explainers” of new areas of academic research or new industry practice and policy developments are welcome.
Keynote Speech
“Towards improved climate information for risk assessment in finance and energy” by Professor Jason A Lowe OBE, Chair in Interdisciplinary Climate Research, Priestley Centre, University of Leeds, and Principal Fellow/Head of Climate Services for Government at the Met Office.
Conference Details:

Date: 5th November 2025
Venue: ICMA Centre – Henley Business School, University of Reading
Format: One-day conference featuring a keynote speech, panel discussions and research/industry paper presentations.
Attendance: Both in-person and online participation are available. However, we require conference speakers to attend in person.

Key Themes & Topics of Interest
We welcome empirical, theoretical, and policy-relevant contributions, including papers, work-in-progress, abstracts and case studies, on (but not limited to) the following topics:
Financing the Future of Energy

Government green bonds and sovereign climate instruments
Optimal public-private investment mix for energy decarbonisation
Tailored financing models for net-zero transitions across geographies
The role of subsidies and incentives in shaping the renewables market

Climate Risk, Insurance & Market Resilience

Insurance solutions for power plants and transmission networks
Climate-linked catastrophe models for energy asset valuation
Weather derivatives and extreme weather risk pricing
Resilient infrastructure finance under extreme climate scenarios
Estimating damage functions: Methodological challenges.

Carbon pricing, Regulation & Energy Markets in a Changing Climate

Carbon tax and emissions trading systems: financial and market effects
Volatility in energy and carbon markets in a changing climate: hedging and investment under uncertainty
Policy instruments: regulation vs. market-based mechanisms
The impact of tariffs and cross-border carbon pricing on competitiveness

Innovation, Technology & Data for Energy Finance

AI and advanced analytics in energy system optimization
Energy storage financing and technology scaling
Satellite data for energy risk pricing and trading precision
The market for rare earths, cleantech investment, and innovation finance

Geopolitics, Equity & Global Energy Transition

Geopolitical dimensions of energy transition: winners, losers, and conflict risks
Energy price and carbon differentials as global competitive factors
Climate finance justice and access to clean energy in emerging markets
Government strategies, barriers, and accelerators of the transition
Innovation ecosystems and policy frameworks enabling energy breakthroughs

Submission Guidelines

Submission Deadline: 30th September 2025
Please send your papers or abstracts to s.varotto@icmacentre.ac.uk with the subject line “Climate and Finance Conference Submission.”
Authors of accepted papers will be notified by 10th October 2025.

Award
Met Office Early Career Better Together Award: This non-monetary award recognises the early career practitioner or academic presenting the paper with the best actionable insights to real-world challenges in climate, finance and the energy transition.
Scientific Committee

David Brayshaw, Meteorology Department, University of Reading
Theresa Lober, Bank of England and Met Office
Jason Lowe, Met Office and University of Leeds
Luca Taschini, University of Edinburgh Business School
Simone Varotto, ICMA Centre – Henley Business School, University of Reading
Emily Wallace, Met Office and Fellow in Weather and Climate Extremes, University of Strathclyde

Registration
The conference is free of charge, but registration is required. Please register online at
https://forms.office.com/e/sqA1PN7SAB by 22nd October 2025.
Contact
For questions, please contact: s.varotto@icmacentre.ac.uk

2024 University of Reading Climate and Finance Conference
2024-09-20 09:00 - 13:15 | ICMA Centre
Bringing together researchers across the University the 2024 Climate and Finance conference will discuss the latest research into the impacts of climate change on the financial system. Call for papers and abstracts.
