Where Climate Science Meets Finance
I'm Ben McNeil — climate scientist, quantitative researcher, and co-founder of Emmi, a climate risk analytics platform for institutional investors. For over 25 years I've built empirical models of how carbon flows through natural systems. Over the last five years I've applied that same rigour to understanding how climate and carbon move markets.
Why Climate Quant Exists
We’re in the middle of the largest capital reallocation in history. The global economy is shifting from high-carbon to low-carbon growth — and that transition carries enormous risks and opportunities for investors, from Europe to Australia, China to California.
The problem: most “climate risk” analysis is either too academic to be actionable, or too surface-level to be useful.
That’s where Climate Quant comes in.
What You'll Get
Although I am unfortunately too busy to write weekly, I try and publish at least one substantial analysis each month. This is what you’ll get:
No fluff, no politics — just data-driven climate analysis without an agenda
Actionable intelligence to translate climate science into finance for portfolio managers, analysts, and decision-makers
Quantitative analysis of climate scenarios and their financial impact
Real company examples — from Apple to mining giants — showing carbon exposure
Recent deep-dives include:
The No-Warming Storm Damage Scenario: $1 Trillion by 2050
What happens when cyclones hit markets?
When did growth start to decouple from carbon?
Banks' hidden financed emissions exposure (spoiler: it's massive)
My background
After my PhD in the late 1990s I spent the early part of my career as a traditional climate researcher — teaching, publishing, building predictive models at Princeton and UNSW. Research published in Science and Nature. All of it academic. None of it translating into the real economy.
So I went back to study Economics, which gave me the foundation to write The Clean Industrial Revolution (2009) — an economic case for decarbonisation. Well received. Still frustrated.
Climate science was advancing. Finance wasn’t listening.
My conclusion: we don’t need more climate scientists writing papers nobody reads. We need climate translators — people who can integrate science into how the real economy works.
So in 2019 I co-founded Emmi with Michael Lebbon, a carbon markets CFA. Our mission: build the world’s most advanced climate risk analytics engine that the global finance community can actually use. Today Emmi’s platform is used by leading institutional investors managing trillions in assets. That’s had 1000x more impact than any paper I’ve written. emmi.io
Why "Climate Quant"?
Traditional financial models are missing a critical input: carbon. As the world transitions to net-zero, companies with high carbon exposure face stranded asset risk, while low-carbon alternatives capture new opportunity. Physical climate risks — storms, heat, floods — are also hitting financial returns in ways conventional models systematically underestimate.
Climate Quant exists to keep you one step ahead of that signal.
Who This Is For?
You’ll find Climate Quant useful if you’re a portfolio manager assessing climate risk, an analyst covering carbon-intensive sectors, a CFO planning for net-zero, or a consultant advising on climate finance.
You won’t find it useful if you’re looking for generic ESG content, political climate debates, or surface-level sustainability commentary.
Join 600+ subscribers — fund managers, analysts, consultants, and executives serious about the intersection of climate and finance.
Disclaimer
This newsletter is for research and education, not financial advice. The information provided is general in nature and may not be suitable for your individual objectives, financial situation, or needs. It is not a substitute for professional financial advice.
