Berkeley Law Voices Carry

In this episode, host Gwyneth Shaw talks to Dave Jones, director of the Climate Risk Initiative at Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy, & the Environment (CLEE). He’s a national leader and expert on climate risk and financial regulation, having served two two terms as California’s Insurance Commissioner from 2011 to 2018. In that role, he led the Department of Insurance and was responsible for regulating the largest insurance market in the United States: Insurers here collect $310 Billion a year in premiums and have $5.5 trillion in assets under management. 

During that same time period, Dave led the implementation of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Climate Risk Disclosure Survey of insurers, founded and chaired the Sustainable Insurance Forum, an international consortium of insurance regulators developing best practices to deal with climate change, required insurers to disclose their investments in fossil fuels, and was the first to undertake climate risk scenario analysis of insurers investment portfolios. Since joining CLEE he’s been a sought-after expert on the challenges facing the insurance industry and insurance regulators, in California and nationwide, as they deal with the impact of climate change. 

Before he was Insurance Commissioner, Dave served in the California State Assembly, as a Sacramento City Councilmember, and as special assistant and then counsel to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. He began his legal career providing free legal representation to low income families and individuals with the non-profit Legal Services of Northern California. Dave earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and an M.P.P. from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. 

A couple of minor corrections to his remarks: “United Policies Network” is “United Policyholders” and the correct figure for insurer investment in fossil fuels is $536 billion. 

To learn more about Jones, the Climate Risk Initiative, and Berkeley Law’s climate and environmental research, check out the websites for the initiative and the CLEE. 

About

“Berkeley Law Voices Carry” is a podcast hosted by Gwyneth Shaw in Berkeley Law's Office of Communications about how the school’s faculty, students, and staff are making an impact — in California, across the country, and around the world — through pathbreaking scholarship, hands-on legal training, and advocacy. 

See the episode page on the Berkeley Law Podcast hub for transcript and more information.

Production by Yellow Armadillo Studios.

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