194 countries signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, limiting global warming to “well below” 2°C. But we are not on track: business (and investing) as usual is leading to global warming of 3.5°C to 5.5°C by the end of this century, rendering entire regions of the planet uninhabitable. A rapid reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is the only way to change curse. .

Political and business leaders have failed to tackle the problem at scale. Preventable Surprises believes institutional investors—which hold significant stakes in the world’s largest companies—must drive sector transformation and use their leverage to put pressure on the largest greenhouse gas emitters.

Climate action has defined much of Preventable Surprises work in its early phase. Our distinctive contribution has been to frame climate change as a systemic risk and to get investors to be forceful stewards—to actively engage with investee companies to accelerate change. In 2016, our Missing 60 campaign highlighted the silence of leading institutional investment managers at AGM votes. From 2015-2018, we led several global online dialogues with investors, academics, scientists and other experts, to develop and vet strategies on topics ranging from COP strategies to Asian utilities.

To continue to accelerate climate action, our current focus is on transformation plans for industrial sectors, and accelerated Net (or Real) Zero strategies.