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This episode marks the turn of one of the most popular guests we’ve ever had on this show: Larry Lawrence, Vice President of Sustainable Finance Data at Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). When we had him on the show back in 2023, our conversation veered into the various ways data was evolving to drive innovation in sustainable finance.

Well, it’s 2025 and it’s safe to say … things have changed. The very word sustainable is now taboo in some spaces, but Larry and the team at ICE don’t get caught up in all that. They don’t let semantics get in the way of the data.

And when it comes to climate risk data, the financial services industry is listening to what the data says. Asset managers are listening. Investors in mortgage-backed securities are listening. And perhaps most importantly, insurers are listening. Natural disasters like wildfires, floods and hurricanes have reshaped insurance markets. So much so that, as the team at ICE shared in a recent report, climate risks are creating affordability risks that can ultimately lead to default risks.

More resources

ICE Report: How are home insurance costs changing across the United States?

Key highlights

Importance of clarity in climate risk data – (4:27)

Natural disasters and ‘on the ground’ data – (6:27)

Innovative ways investors are using climate risk data – (13:10)

Impact of climate risk on home insurance costs – (18:38)

Can the insurance affordability problem be solved? – (20:55)

A shift in how we talk about ‘sustainable’ finance – (27:39)

Real-time markets for climate risk data – (31:06)

Larry’s bold predictions for the future of climate risk data – (34:53)

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