iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

UK intelligence agencies say nature destruction is a national security threat. We need to rapidly scale environmental deterrence: raising detection probability and violation costs of nature destruction until the expected penalty exceeds the gain. bencaldecott.substack.com/p/towards-en...

bencaldecott.substack.com

Towards Environmental Deterrence

If nature is a national security threat, we need to act like it

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Registration is now open for the @ox.ac.uk Sustainable Finance Summit 2026. 29th June, Rhodes House, Oxford. Geopolitics, the agentic economy, silicon boundaries, transition finance, nature, heat risk, and more. Register: sustainablefinance.ox.ac.uk/summit-2025/... @smithschool.ox.ac.uk

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

The new #SiliconBoundaries report is accompanied by a podcast where we talk through the core arguments: why societies have thresholds for absorbing AI, how those differ from planetary boundaries, and what happens if we act to stay within them. Listen: open.spotify.com/show/0Z2kU9t...

open.spotify.com

Spotify – Web Player

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

New report: #SiliconBoundaries. Societies have preconditions for stability. AI and compute can erode them. Unlike planetary boundaries, these thresholds move, which is both the opportunity and the risk. See: bencaldecott.substack.com/p/silicon-bo...

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Coming soon: This Thursday, the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group in partnership with Theia Finance Labs, will release the first report from our new joint programme: Silicon Boundaries. Find out more here: substack.com/@bencaldecot...

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

At The Villars Institute Summit I argued we have a nature proposition problem. We've built extraordinary frameworks but not enough investable, place-based propositions at a scale institutional capital can back. Time to shift from complexity to delivery. Remarks here: substack.com/@bencaldecot...

substack.com

Ben Caldecott (@bencaldecott)

The Nature Proposition Gap At the fourth Villars Summit this week I was asked to pitch a big idea on climate and nature finance. Here is what I said. My argument: our field has built an extraordinar...

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

New article: The agentic economy will need finance: credit, settlement, risk management, prudential rules. The policy debate is almost entirely focused on compute and talent. Nobody is asking who finances the agents. The UK has a window to build this. It is closing. open.substack.com/pub/bencalde...

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Delighted to host Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the @ifrsfoundation.ifrs.org ISSB, @ox.ac.uk for a public lecture on “Future Proofing Capital Markets with Sustainability Disclosures”, as part of him winning the Oxford Prize for Greening Finance. See: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKqC...

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Oxford Sustainable Finance Group & Theia Finance Labs are working together on an exciting new initiative. 'Silicon Boundaries' are thresholds where the benefits of AI and related technologies are outweighed by their contributions to societal instability: mailchi.mp/cgfi/invitat...

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

It was wonderful to host Ruth Davis, the UK’s first nature envoy, at the University of Oxford on Friday where she gave a wonderfully thoughtful and expansive speech on nature that was simultaneously challenging and inspiring, as well as deeply personal. A treat! Recording and transcript to follow.

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Geological storage needs to be stewarded wisely, more wisely than this research implies. A fraction of that estimated will be accessible at a price society is willing to pay. Carbon removal budgeting is needed to optimise the use of this scarce resource. on.ft.com/4nigq4Z

Carbon capture set to be less useful in tackling climate change, scientists warn

CO₂ stored underground will be at risk of leaking back into the atmosphere, study finds

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Delighted to be hosting Ruth Davis, the first UK Special Representative for Nature, for a lecture @UniofOxford on 3 Oct 2025. Opportunity to hear directly from Ruth on the UK's priorities for nature ahead of COP30 and following UNGA week. Register here: www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/event/lectur...

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Yet more inflation statistics show that the UK is more vulnerable to the drivers of inflation than peer economies. This report, from a project I chaired, had some excellent supply side proposals to fix the problem: ukonward.com/reports/targ...

ukonward.com

Target Practice | Onward

Supply side solutions to deliver stable prices and overcome economic stagnation

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Delighted to be confirmed as an @ipcc.bsky.social Coordinating Lead Author for the Finance Chapter of AR7 WGIII. Looking forward to working as part of the IPCC and with members of the wider climate finance community who will contribute over the next few years www.ipcc.ch/assessment-r... @ox.ac.uk

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 16/08/2025

A recalibration of sustainable finance is underway. We hosted our third Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit on the theme of reinvention and renewal. If you missed #OSFS25, you can check out some highlights here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_AY...

youtube.com

Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit 2025 highlights

YouTube video by OxfordSmithSchool

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Excited to welcome participants to our 3rd Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit this week. Theme is Reinvention & Renewal. Progress is not linear or assured. Our task is to confront realities head-on and identify practical pathways that make progress. sustainablefinance.ox.ac.uk/summit/

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Climate impacts will worsen - it is a question of whether they are terrible, really bad or just bad. It is a no brainer to scale up investment in adaptation. This will save money and spur economic activity. Climate resilience is a competitive advantage. www.theccc.org.uk/2025/04/30/t...

theccc.org.uk

The country is not prepared for climate impacts, say advisors - Climate Change Committee

There is now unequivocal evidence that climate change is making extreme weather in the UK more likely and…

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

"State Street loses £28bn of assets to Amundi and Invesco over ESG goals. US asset manager previously managed all of The People’s Pension’s £33bn in assets" www.ft.com/content/541c...

ft.com

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 19/02/2025

The next Oxford Sustainable Finance Summit is taking place on Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th July 2025. Registration is now open! Find out more here: sustainablefinance.ox.ac.uk/summit/

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

“…while China added a record 356GW of wind and solar electricity-generating capacity in 2024, it also began building coal power plants with 94.5GW of capacity…” on.ft.com/4jUZyQQ

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Jeff Bezos’s $10bn Earth Fund cuts ties with climate group... Potentially just the start of a major shake up in climate philanthropy as public and private donors backfill USAID and other cuts, and some US tech philanthropists pivot www.ft.com/content/c3bf...

ft.com

Jeff Bezos’s $10bn Earth Fund cuts ties with climate group

Decision to stop backing SBTi comes as Amazon founder seeks to curry favour with Donald Trump

Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

This is terrible news. Mikkel was a real sustainability leader and innovator, who played a key role in developing high integrity carbon markets, among many other things. He will be greatly missed, including by colleagues at CIX and ⁦‪DBS Bank. www.businesstimes.com.sg/esg/climate-...

businesstimes.com.sg

Climate Impact X’s ex-CEO Mikkel Larsen dies at 50 - The Business Times

THE former chief executive officer of Climate Impact X, Mikkel Larsen, died unexpectedly at the age of 50 on Thursday (Jan 23), the carbon exchange confirmed with The Business Times. Read more at The ...

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

The original requirements for GFANZ membership have been dismantled step by step, as have the mechanisms to ensure accountability for net zero commitments by financial institutions. Being part of Race to Zero and a verified alliance were there to help deliver accountability. on.ft.com/40EpatK

Europe’s banks rethink climate collaboration as alliances struggle ahead of Davos

Top lenders in Europe are reconsidering their membership of the Net Zero Banking Alliance after US peers quit

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

“Financial Stability Board said the financial damage of climate shocks such as floods, droughts, fires or storms could cause a broader pullback in lending and downturn in investor confidence…was [also] making insurance less available and more expensive…” on.ft.com/3PBp9jE

Top financial watchdog warns climate change set to trigger market panics

Basel-based FSB says damage caused by floods, droughts and fires threatens broader pullback in lending

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Reposted by Ben Caldecott

Marcus Shepheard @mashley.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

I've also found 'Target Practice' (h/t @bencaldecott.bsky.social, @nedhammond92.bsky.social & Laurence Fredricks) really good on this issue, providing a useful diagnosis of the many issues which are slowing the transition down and increasing its costs www.ukonward.com/reports/targ...

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

Mining eats into more of the world’s forests. Nearly 1.4mn ha of tree cover was lost between 2001 and 2020 in areas where mining and related activities have taken place on.ft.com/3Yuy4aH

Mining eats into more of the world’s forests

Critical minerals rush spurs demand and study finds loss ...

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Ben Caldecott @bencaldecott.bsky.social · 31/10/2024

The ⁦@ADB_HQ⁩ estimates that between $102bn and $431bn is needed in annual financing to adapt to climate change across the Asia-Pacific region from 2023 to 2030, compared with just $34bn in commitments it recorded in 2022. on.ft.com/3YHUk2m