Global banking sector alignment with climate targets and what it means for Canadian banks

Matthieu is an expert in sustainable finance with an international track record advising financial institutions, corporates and public organizations. At S&P Global Market Intelligence, he leads ESG solutions for North American banks and insurance companies. Prior to joining S&P Global, Matthieu setup and launched a commercial spinoff of the 2 Degrees Investing Initiative to provide asset-level data for climate-related financial analysis. Previously he worked for Circle Economy where he led a program on circular finance, for Ecofys (now part of Navigant consulting) where he specialized in climate policy, and for Coffey Geotechnics as an engineering geophysicist. Matthieu holds Master’s degrees in Sustainable Development from Utrecht University and Geophysics from Imperial College London.

Laura Zizzo is a lawyer and strategic advisor with over a decade of experience leading organizations towards a low-carbon and climate adapted future through the application of law and policy. Laura started her legal career with a prominent Bay Street law firm before founding the first law firm in Canada focused on climate change in 2009. In 2015 she founded a strategic consultancy to advise clients on identification, management and disclosure of climate risks and opportunities.

She is a frequent writer and speaker on the move to the low-carbon economy and has become a leading voice on the legal imperative to adapt to climate change. Laura has contributed to numerous research and policy papers on legal liability related to climate change adaptation, the use of existing legal mechanisms to address climate change, and the role of markets and flexibility mechanisms in driving emissions reductions.

Laura has worked in the strategic research division of the Ontario Ministry of Finance and as co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of International Law and International Relations. She is co-founder of the Climate Change Lawyers Network, a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) committee on Environmental Law, a member of the University of Toronto’s Environmental Finance Advisory Committee and sits on the board of the Clean Air Partnership. She has a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and a law degree from the University of Toronto. Laura is called to the Bar of Ontario.

Joseph Lake is Chief Operating Officer at The Climate Service. Based in New York, he works to embed climate risk and opportunity data into global decision-making through the TCS software as a service.

Prior to this appointment, Lake was the Managing Director for Climate Risk at The Economist. He launched The Economist's inaugural Climate Risk Summit and led The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) climate risk consulting services. Before this, he was a Global Director at the EIU, responsible for the B2B subscription research business, where he led a global team that comprised sales, analysts and marketing. In all, he has more than 15 years professional experience providing insight and analysis to corporations, policymakers, and private clients. He is a frequent speaker at international events and is regularly interviewed by major television and print media.

He previously worked as an economic adviser to the Tanzanian Ministry of Finance, and as a hedge fund custodian in Ireland for a US financial services group, PNC.

Sundip joined CDSB’s technical team in 2019 after spending four years representing the UK private equity and venture capital industry. At the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (BVCA), he led on several policy areas including responsible and impact investing; accounting, reporting and legal developments; and a governance initiative to improve transparency within the industry.

Previously, Sundip trained as a chartered accountant at Deloitte in the Banking and Capital Markets group and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). He has an MA in Land Economy from Cambridge. Sundip supports the CDSB’s technical work programme to drive uptake of the TCFD recommendations and enhance reporting of climate, natural capital and environmental information globally.