Living With 2°C Plus: New perspectives on financing the adaptation challenge

07/31/2025 10:00 am 07/31/2025 11:30 am Australia/Melbourne Living With 2°C Plus: New perspectives on financing the adaptation challenge

Without money, climate adaptation doesn’t happen. We know that too little is happening in most parts of the world. The adaptation finance gap is estimated at between $187-$359 billion per year. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made it clear lack of finance is blocking adaptation even in developed countries.

In this roundtable we bring together a range of perspectives on the adaptation challenge; the value of investing in adaptation for both government and private investors, value creation through adaptation investment and, opportunities for investors – sovereign bonds, green bonds, private subscription, venture capital and more.

Speakers

Tao Wang, Lead Environmental Specialist, the World Bank Group

Mr Wang has over 25 years of experience in climate and environmental finance. He has extensive, hands-on experience with major international climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund, the Climate Investment Funds, and various carbon finance mechanisms. Currently, he leads the World Bank Group’s climate and nature finance engagements in the Latin America and Caribbean regions.

Miles Murphy, Senior Research Analyst, Centre for Intergovernmental Partnerships at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)

Mr Murphy and NAPA colleagues completed a report in October 2024 on financing strategies for local government to address local level climate impacts.

Wenhong Xie, Head of China Programme, Climate Bonds Initiative, Beijing

Mr Xie manages research reports for government, multilateral organisations, underwriters and institutional investors, and also provides advice on green bonds issuance including the recently launched China green sovereign bond.

Gordon Noble, Research Director, UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures

Mr Noble focuses on sustainable finance research, has extensive experience in the finance industry, and was previously head of policy and advocacy at the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative where he co-authored the Australian Sustainable Finance roadmap.

Supreya Kesavan, The Resiliency Company

Ms Kesavan is part of the team at The Resiliency Company, set up to mobilise funding, policies and innovation to shift markets and minds toward resilience. The company recently launched The Resilient LA Delta Fund designed to marshal finance required to rebuild LA to the highest wildfire safety standards.

Dr Tamara Wilkinson, Lecturer, Monash Law

Dr Wilkinson has written three books on venture capital, and extensively researched the use of blended finance to support innovation. She teaches law at Monash University with a focus on venture capital, innovation, tax, policy and commercial law. She is part of the Green Lab team working on climate resilience districts.

John Marinopoulos, Advisor, Value Advisory

Mr Marinopoulos was co-program lead on the Enabling Resilience Investment (ERI) Framework and a driving force behind its creation, development and implementation with colleagues at the Australian government scientific research organisation CSIRO. The framework supports investment decision-making for resilient infrastructure.

Host

Dr Michael Spencer, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Green Lab, Impact Labs, Monash Business School

Organised by

Green Lab, Impact Labs, Monash Business School, in collaboration with the US National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).

Living With 2°C Plus: Roundtable series

Our world will become at least 2.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, current indications show.

Following COP29, Monash Green Lab is hosting a roundtable series to discuss the challenges of implementing strategies to live in a significantly warmer world.

In cooperation with the US National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), the Monash roundtables will bring together leading international and Australian thinkers from government, business and community sectors.

The roundtables will provide insights from current work on climate change adaptation and point to areas where further work is required.

Events in the series

Where are we, why are we here and where do we want to go? Thu 28 Nov 2024
Extreme weather events, flood risk and stormwater systems Thu 13 Feb 2025
Managing risk, value and insurance protection Fri 14 Mar 2025
Living with wildfire Thu 26 Jun 2025
New perspectives on financing the adaptation challenge Thu 31 July 2025
Locally led adaptation; building on place-based approaches to adaptation Thu 25 Sep 2025
Slow Burn - The hidden costs of a warming planet Thu 11 Dec 2025

Contact

greenlab@monash.edu

Event Details

Date:
31 July 2025 at 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Venue:
Online - Zoom
Categories:
Green Lab

Description

Without money, climate adaptation doesn’t happen. We know that too little is happening in most parts of the world. The adaptation finance gap is estimated at between $187-$359 billion per year. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made it clear lack of finance is blocking adaptation even in developed countries.

In this roundtable we bring together a range of perspectives on the adaptation challenge; the value of investing in adaptation for both government and private investors, value creation through adaptation investment and, opportunities for investors – sovereign bonds, green bonds, private subscription, venture capital and more.

Speakers

Tao Wang, Lead Environmental Specialist, the World Bank Group

Mr Wang has over 25 years of experience in climate and environmental finance. He has extensive, hands-on experience with major international climate funds, including the Green Climate Fund, the Climate Investment Funds, and various carbon finance mechanisms. Currently, he leads the World Bank Group’s climate and nature finance engagements in the Latin America and Caribbean regions.

Miles Murphy, Senior Research Analyst, Centre for Intergovernmental Partnerships at the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA)

Mr Murphy and NAPA colleagues completed a report in October 2024 on financing strategies for local government to address local level climate impacts.

Wenhong Xie, Head of China Programme, Climate Bonds Initiative, Beijing

Mr Xie manages research reports for government, multilateral organisations, underwriters and institutional investors, and also provides advice on green bonds issuance including the recently launched China green sovereign bond.

Gordon Noble, Research Director, UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures

Mr Noble focuses on sustainable finance research, has extensive experience in the finance industry, and was previously head of policy and advocacy at the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative where he co-authored the Australian Sustainable Finance roadmap.

Supreya Kesavan, The Resiliency Company

Ms Kesavan is part of the team at The Resiliency Company, set up to mobilise funding, policies and innovation to shift markets and minds toward resilience. The company recently launched The Resilient LA Delta Fund designed to marshal finance required to rebuild LA to the highest wildfire safety standards.

Dr Tamara Wilkinson, Lecturer, Monash Law

Dr Wilkinson has written three books on venture capital, and extensively researched the use of blended finance to support innovation. She teaches law at Monash University with a focus on venture capital, innovation, tax, policy and commercial law. She is part of the Green Lab team working on climate resilience districts.

John Marinopoulos, Advisor, Value Advisory

Mr Marinopoulos was co-program lead on the Enabling Resilience Investment (ERI) Framework and a driving force behind its creation, development and implementation with colleagues at the Australian government scientific research organisation CSIRO. The framework supports investment decision-making for resilient infrastructure.

Host

Dr Michael Spencer, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Green Lab, Impact Labs, Monash Business School

Organised by

Green Lab, Impact Labs, Monash Business School, in collaboration with the US National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA).

Living With 2°C Plus: Roundtable series

Our world will become at least 2.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels, current indications show.

Following COP29, Monash Green Lab is hosting a roundtable series to discuss the challenges of implementing strategies to live in a significantly warmer world.

In cooperation with the US National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), the Monash roundtables will bring together leading international and Australian thinkers from government, business and community sectors.

The roundtables will provide insights from current work on climate change adaptation and point to areas where further work is required.

Events in the series

Where are we, why are we here and where do we want to go? Thu 28 Nov 2024
Extreme weather events, flood risk and stormwater systems Thu 13 Feb 2025
Managing risk, value and insurance protection Fri 14 Mar 2025
Living with wildfire Thu 26 Jun 2025
New perspectives on financing the adaptation challenge Thu 31 July 2025
Locally led adaptation; building on place-based approaches to adaptation Thu 25 Sep 2025
Slow Burn - The hidden costs of a warming planet Thu 11 Dec 2025

Contact

greenlab@monash.edu