Our partners at Climate Week NYC



Climate Week NYC is the largest annual climate event of its kind, convening leaders from the world of business, tech, politics, academic and civil society. It joins the forces of inspiring frontrunners that have the means, the scale and power to drive the transition forward. This week-long series of events aims to foster collaboration, innovation and concrete action to tackle environmental challenges.
Impax is a strong advocate of collaboration between the policy and investment communities. As such, we were excited to send a delegation to New York City, where various Impax subject matter experts spoke and attended events, underscoring our commitment to driving positive environmental change. Below we share our written perspectives related to Climate Week NYC, and we will continue to do so after the week concludes.
Key Messages from Impax
- Climate change must be a core consideration for delivering fiduciary-led investment objectives
- Climate physical risks are intensifying – yet few companies are investing sufficiently in their own resilience
- Avoided emissions are key to understanding impact of climate solutions
Our colleagues at Climate Week NYC
Event Replays

Climate Week Masterclass featuring Julie Gorte
In this 52-minute, CE credit approved Masterclass, hear from Julie Gorte, Ph.D., SVP for Sustainable Investing at Impax, and MSCI as they explore sustainable investing during NYC Climate Week, focusing on climate risks, data in finance, and capital market shifts for a low-carbon transition.
7 October 2024

TransitionIQ (CleanTechIQ): Decarbonizing Portfolios The Role of Fixed Income
In this session, David Loehwing, Head of Sustainability & Stewardship for North America at Impax, discussed the connection between fixed income products and climate transition with Kay Hope, Head of ESG Research for Global Fixed Income, Bank of America Global Research and Richard Zimmerman, Partner, WE Family Offices.
23 September 2024

TransitionIQ (CleanTechIQ): US Climate Policy and Disclosure: Aligning Reporting with Decarbonization Goals
In this session, Charlie Donovan, Principal Economist at Impax, discussed the key steps investors should take and the role of policy in reaching decarbonization goals with Leslie Labruto, Managing Director, Sustainable Finance, Environmental Defense Fund and Bertrand Millot, Head of Sustainability, CDPQ.
23 September 2024
Related Reports
The climate has changed: How CIOs are investing in a climate-resilient economy
3 October 2024
Investing in the Future
23 August 2024
Climate Risk
28 June 2024
Related Insights

Seeking resilience
We must plan and invest today for a more volatile and uncertain future. Better modelling and reporting of physical climate risks can help investors chart the road ahead.

Reinsurers: placing an economic price on climate change
Rising exposure to climate-related weather events supports growing demand for financial protection

Climate change: the impact for investors
Reviewing the research that demonstrates the financial materiality of physical, transition and adaptation risks to companies, issuers and their investors

Pricing physical climate risk – two sectors in the spotlight
A collaboration with Oxford academics evaluated assets at risk in the data centre and semiconductor industries using GRII data
The transition will not be televised
Speaker Biographies
Ian Simm
Ian Simm is the Founder and Chief Executive of Impax Asset Management Group plc, one of the world’s leading investment managers dedicated to investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy, with offices and clients in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Outside Impax, Ian is a member of the UK government’s Net Zero Innovation Board, which provides strategic oversight of public sector funding of energy innovation programmes and is a board member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the European membership body for investor collaboration on addressing climate change. He is also a commissioner with the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of leaders developing transition roadmaps to achieve net-zero emissions, the chair of the Net Zero Committee of the Confederation of British Industry, and a Commissioner on the Severn Estuary Commission. Between 2013 and 2018, he was a board member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the UK’s leading funding agency for environmental science. Prior to Impax, Ian was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company advising clients on environmental strategy.
Ian has a first-class honours degree in physics from Cambridge University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University. After his first degree he initiated and led an expedition to complete the first summer crossing of the Sahara Desert by tandem bicycle.
Recent Insights
Denying climate causality won’t alter the rapidly changing investment landscape
The onward march of clean technologies will continue, despite polarisation on climate issues, creating opportunities for rational investors who can see through the fog of political rhetoric
Mobilising finance to achieve a more resilient economy
Introducing a framework that governments, companies and investors can use to mobilise finance and increase climate resilience
Additional Insights
Reflections on Impax’s first 25 years
Five key lessons from 25 years of investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy
Charlie Donovan
Charlie Donovan is Principal Economist at Impax Asset Management. He is concurrently Adjunct Professor at the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College and Affiliate Professor of Practice in the Department of Finance and Business Economics at the University of Washington. He is a member of the Impax Sustainability Centre.
Before joining lmpax in 2022, Charlie was Professor of Practice at Imperial College London and Founding Executive Director of lmperial’s award-winning Centre for Climate Finance and Investment. In his corporate career, Charlie was Head of Structuring and Valuation for Global Power at BP plc and part of the team that launched BP Alternative Energy in 2005 with an $8 billion funding commitment. He began his career as an Energy Policy Analyst at the US Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton Administration.
Charlie is co-author and editor of Renewable Energy Finance: Powering the Future, now in its second edition. He holds a BA from the University of Washington, an MBA from Vanderbilt University, and gained a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) in finance from IE Business School.
Recent Insights
2025 Outlook: Seizing opportunity amid disruptive change
Looking into 2025, we share perspectives from our Listed Equities, Fixed Income and Private Markets teams.
AI’s double-edged role in the sustainability revolution
How should investors view the trade-offs between AI’s rising consumption of resources and its positive applications? Here we explore AI’s role in enabling climate solutions and how we should approach the challenge of its negative impact on the environment.
The green arc of steel’s transition
Emerging technologies are poised to reduce the steel industry’s environmental impact, creating compelling investment opportunities in the sector
Shahbano Soomro
As Deputy Head of Policy and Advocacy Shahbano works closely with investment teams to provide insights on the risks and opportunities created by policy changes and trends relevant to Impax’s portfolio. Her insights support the listed investment team’s idea generation process, company risk analysis and portfolio management decisions. Shahbano also supports the development of public policies and standards by working with regulators and industry bodies to shape policies that catalyse a more sustainable transition. She is a member of the Impax Sustainability Centre.
Prior to joining Impax Shahbano was an Engagement Manager at Vivid Economics and Mckinsey, where she worked with governments, corporates and financial institutions on net-zero transition pathways, energy decarbonisation and sustainable finance.
Shahbano has an MSc in International Economics and Public Policy at Sciences Po, Paris, and a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from University of Oxford.
Recent Insights
AI’s double-edged role in the sustainability revolution
How should investors view the trade-offs between AI’s rising consumption of resources and its positive applications? Here we explore AI’s role in enabling climate solutions and how we should approach the challenge of its negative impact on the environment.
Additional Insights
Outlook 2024: Why prospects for a more sustainable economy remain undimmed
We share our perspectives on key themes that we believe will shape opportunities in global markets in 2024 and beyond.
Ed Farrington
Ed is President, North America at Impax Asset Management and Co-Head of the Client Group. Based in the Portsmouth office, Ed is responsible for distribution of Impax’s full capabilities across North America. Ed previously served as the Head of Distribution for North America. In this capacity, he oversaw institutional and intermediary sales and client service efforts, engaging with consultants, advisers, institutions and plan sponsors on issues ranging from investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy to navigating global retirement systems.
Ed joined Impax in 2021 from Natixis Investment Managers where he held multiple distribution leadership roles in London and Boston over the span of 12 years. Prior to that, he worked in sales and sales management for Fidelity Investments, Fidelity Charitable Services and Pioneer Investments.
With a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire, Ed also holds the FINRA Series 6, 7, 24, and 31 registrations, and is a registered representative of Foreside Financial Services, LLC. He serves on the World Surf League advisory board, the Levitate Foundation and the sustainability advisory board at the University of New Hampshire.
Recent Insights
America should be the eagle, not the ostrich, of the clean energy transition
With US jobs, leadership and investment returns at stake, we must embrace the transition to a cleaner, more resilient economy
David Loehwing
David leads the sustainability team in North America and is responsible for overseeing Impax’s sustainability and ESG research and development of its methodologies, as well as engagement and stewardship across Impax portfolios. David leads on Impax’s internal sustainability frameworks including the construction and management of Impax’s Systematic ESG Rating and the Impax Gender Score. He is a member of the Impax Sustainability Centre, Sustainability Lens Committee, Sustainability Policy Committee and ESG & Sustainability Committee which govern integration of sustainability and stewardship in Impax’s investment process.
David’s role at Impax also includes Co-Chair of the Environment Group and member of the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Group.
David has worked in sustainable investing since 1998. Before joining Impax in 2007, he worked in the field at Citizens Advisers and the Investor Responsibility Research Centre. David has been active within industry working groups and advisory committees related to sustainable investing.
David graduated from Bowdoin College, Maine, with a BA in sociology.
Authored Insights
Built-in Bias: What Investors Should Know
How companies and investors can spot bias in technology and take steps to eradicate it.