Jan 28 2025 93 mins
Hello out there and welcome to or welcome back to the finding nature podcast. My name is Nathan Robertson-Ball and this is my show where I speak to the change makers and paradigm busters who are working towards and making a difference in our collective efforts to make the world a safer, more just and sustainable place. I love doing this show, and over the last couple of days finding nature as an endeavour turned one years old - what started as an experiment by running hosted conversations at my actual job just like this and holding three pilot events has become this wonderfully enriching and meaningful undertaking. I’m very grateful for all the help and support and participation and listening so many have offered me this past year, it’s been the greatest professional undertaking of my career and I’m really pleased to be bringing you another fantastic guest who’s been on the vanguard of Australian and global sustainable finance efforts and changes.
Nathan Fabian joins today, and he is a man that an introduction on what roles he’s held and work he’s done barely addresses the phenomenal impact and contribution he has made towards reforming and creating a new trajectory for sustainable finance in this country and around the world.
Nathan’s career has involved being the Chief Executive at the Investor Group on Climate Change during the hottest years of Australia’s climate wars, advisor to senior politicians, a formative experience in management consulting and since 2015 he’s had an array of roles and titles at the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment based in London and Brussels - from policy director to chief responsible investment officer and now chief sustainable systems officer. At the same time he was also appointed as the chairperson of the European platform on sustainable finance which developed and launched the world’s first sustainable finance taxonomy. And in 2023 he was included in POLITICO’s annual ranking of the 28 power players behind Europe’s green agenda - a list involving Vladimir Putin as ‘the invader making the EU green’.
This conversation was an absolute cracker. I’ve been replaying it in my head and recounting it to others ever since we sat down to chat. Nathan’s experience and wisdom at the helm of some of the most significant efforts globally to re-plumb the financial system are simply remarkable, and as someone who has now spent a fair bit of career time in finance, this was both fascinating and insightful. From his experiences in multi-stakeholder dialogue processes to lessons from investment cases in the early contested years of clean energy policy in Australia to how he handles and manages his personal responses to breaking through the 1.5 degree barrier and watching the latest climate calamity in LA. This has something for everyone looking to make a mark in the world and contribute to a more sustainable and equitable future.
Few have achieved what Nathan has not only in Australia but anywhere in the world, and this chat is essential listening for any of us striving to make big audacious change practical, possible and a reality. I hope you enjoy it.
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