The Chair of the Bank of England’s Residential Property Forum Jackie Bennett OBE has joined climate risk data analytics organisation Climate X.
Having previously worked for over 20 years at in the mortgage and housing industry, she brings her knowledge of the sector to help Climate X as it scales its technology for leading financial institutions and commercial property firms worldwide.
The move comes as the financial sector faces increasing regulations around disclosing and reporting climate related risks, from an array of bodies including the Prudential Regulation Authority, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority.
She will act as an advisor to help financial and real estate institutions navigate the regulations.
Bennett’s arrival comes in the wake of Climate X’s development of its Spectra platform, which acts as a “digital twin” of the earth to help predict future events that can impact properties, like heatwaves, wildfires, flooding and landslides.
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Having worked at the Association of British Insurers during the 200-01 floods which caused an estimated £1 billion worth of damage to a total of over 10,000 properties, she has a keen awareness of the need for more quality data to understand how and where properties need protection from future events.
“Climate X has built a remarkable technology that holds immense potential for the mortgage and housing industries. Foreseeable harm from climate change will have a fundamental impact on mortgages and housing over the coming years – and robust climate risk data and modelling will become vital to these industries’ resilience,” said Bennett.
“I haven’t seen another organisation that commands the breadth and depth of climate risk insights as Climate X. I’m thrilled to be supporting the business in its journey.”
Climate X CEO and co-founder Lukky Ahmed said: “The impacts of climate change across the world are now impossible to ignore – and the risks to global real estate and infrastructure will continue to increase exponentially.”
“Jackie is an impressive leader with an extensive background in the UK’s mortgage and housing market. Her expertise will be invaluable as we scale our product for the real estate sector, helping lenders and property owners to forecast climate risk and protest their assets,” he continued.
