JPMorgan’s climate scientist thinks differently about risk

In 2004, Dr. Sarah Kapnick was a young banking analyst at Goldman Sachs when she spotted a blind spot: no one was helping clients understand climate risk. Two decades later, she’s the Global Head of Climate Advisory at JPMorgan, turning climate science into boardroom strategy. Kapnick’s career path — from Wall Street, to NOAA’s chief scientist, and back to finance — mirrors the way markets are evolving: from ignoring climate risk, to struggling with it, to finally beginning to price it. Without adaptation, large companies could face $1.2 trillion in annual climate-related costs by the 2050s; utilities alone could see $244 billion in yearly losses. But adaptation isn’t just about avoiding losses — it’s also a chance to seize opportunities. Kapnick calls it climate intuition: the ability to think about climate risk the way we think about interest rates or labor costs. In this episode, we dig into what that intuition looks like in practice. From infrastructure investors getting serious about resilience to consumer brands redesigning products, is climate finally becoming a normal part of doing business? Plus, we also look at the deep data gap. Without strong regulation, will companies ever disclose or understand enough of their risks? And with government climate monitoring under threat, how will the private sector step in? Open Circuit is brought to you by Natural Power. Natural Power specializes in renewable energy consulting and engineering, supporting wind, solar, and battery storage projects from concept through financing. Discover how we're creating a world powered by renewable energy at naturalpower.com. Open Circuit is brought to you by Sungrow, the trusted provider of PV inverters and battery storage. With over 605 GW installed worldwide and a BloombergNEF ranking of “most bankable” in power conversion and energy storage, Sungrow provides solar tech you can count on. Learn more at sungrowpower.com. Credits: Co-hosted by Stephen Lacey, Jigar Shah, and Katherine Hamilton. Produced and edited by Stephen Lacey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand.