In financial sectors today, the concept of climate resilience has become an operational imperative. As climate change intensifies, financial institutions are expanding efforts to address its direct impacts on assets and supply chains.
With resources now available to tackle these risks, the focus turns to equipping leadership with the skills to identify, assess, and respond to the most relevant threats and opportunities.
Why Climate-Resilient Leadership Matters
The growing frequency and severity of extreme weather events have introduced new layers of uncertainty regarding capital exposure and risk tolerance. Traditional risk models fall short in this new era, demanding adaptive and forward-looking strategies. However, despite rising awareness, many financial institutions (FIs) still underestimate the unique and rapidly evolving risks climate change presents.
Just last year, nearly 70% of financial institutions misjudged the potential investor losses from physical climate risks. A 2022 EDF & Deloitte survey found that 87% of global agricultural FIs anticipate climate change will become a significant organisational risk, manifesting, for example, in more frequent crop failures and increased loan defaults.
These threats make climate resilience essential for financial stability, requiring leaders with the vision to integrate risk management at both strategic and operational levels.
The Value of Climate-Resilient Leadership
Leadership attuned to climate resilience offers more than risk mitigation and adaptation; it enhances reputation and builds investor confidence. With mounting scrutiny from regulators and stakeholders, taking credible climate action improves both brand and long-term value creation.
For instance, the 2025 McKinsey Global Survey stresses that 83% of C-suite executives and investment professionals believe ESG programmes will deliver greater shareholder value in five years than they do today. Yes, ESG is now viewed as a core governance indicator, rather than a peripheral concern.
Data Expertise: A Cornerstone of Resilience
Robust climate data is critical for meaningful risk analysis and opportunity identification. Particularly, financial institutions increasingly depend on both in-house climate specialists and external experts to evaluate exposures and design mitigation and adaptation strategies.
The 2023 AFME survey on the ECB’s climate stress test experience revealed that every respondent used external data providers, with 87% relying specifically on outside inputs for physical risk data. The NGFS also recommends that central banks disclose their internal capacity-building strategies, including training and upskilling.
While external data providers such as Climate X, among others, play a fundamental role in boosting FIs’ capabilities, leaders must balance the development of internal expertise with strategic collaboration to ensure their organisations are equipped to navigate regulatory requirements and anticipate market shifts.
Attracting and Retaining Talent
Sustainability is no longer an alien concept used in talent acquisition and retention. Today’s workforce is increasingly drawn to employers who take climate resilience seriously and make it a strategic priority.
In this context, Deloitte’s 2024 CxO (Chief Experience Officer) Sustainability Report shows that 85% of organisations have increased sustainability investments in the past year, and 70% of executives expect climate considerations to have a significant influence on corporate strategy within three years. Additionally, nearly half of CxOs are already reconfiguring their business models around sustainability, while 50% have implemented environmental technology solutions.
What does this imply? Embedding climate resilience into the organisational agenda is key to attracting forward-looking talent and ensuring long-term competitiveness.
How Oxford HR Supports Climate-Resilient Leadership
At Oxford HR, we specialise in sourcing and supporting leaders equipped to advance the climate agenda in financial institutions. Drawing on over 30 years’ experience, we work with organisations such as the Green Climate Fund, the African Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank to recruit and integrate senior talent from the sustainability, development, and climate finance sectors.
Our services extend beyond recruitment to leadership integration, coaching, and executive development. We can equip your institution with the expertise and tools needed to adapt, thrive, and lead in a climate-challenged future.
Reach out to know more about how we can help!
Lionel Issombo
Lionel is a business intelligence professional with a focus on climate risk and adaptation in the banking and finance sectors. With a Master’s degree in Diplomacy and Foreign Policy, specialising in International Political Economy from Lancaster University, he offers a unique global systems perspective to his consulting work.
His extensive experience spans finance, development, and sustainability, having collaborated with leading organisations such as the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), Climate X, and 15Rock. At these institutions, Lionel has led research and analytical projects addressing climate stress testing, disclosure standards, and executive search.
Passionate of sustainable finance, climate risk management, adaptation and resilience, Lionel has effectively engaged with regulators, major banks, and consulting firms across Europe and North America, to shape the evolving landscape of leadership around climate risk management and adaptation investing.
