Hannes Matt Keynote Speaker

Entrepreneurship & sustainability researcher focused on climate- and nature-related risk economics
Science-backed keynote speaker on climate risk & resilience strategy; speaker at the 10th Knowledge Summit 2025 in Dubai
Thought leader with 24.000 LinkedIn followers

Hannes Matt's Biography

Hannes Matt is a climate and nature risk specialist who helps leaders navigate a world where environmental shocks, resource constraints, and geopolitical fragmentation increasingly shape economic outcomes. His work sits at the intersection of risk management, finance, and Earth-system science: translating complex climate and nature dynamics into decision-grade risk insights that boards, risk teams, and investment committees can act on.

In many sectors, sustainability has shifted from a long-term aspiration to near-term exposure: extreme weather and resource stress disrupt assets and supply chains, biodiversity loss erodes productive capacity, transition dynamics reshape markets, and political instability amplifies volatility. Drawing on an academic background spanning sociology, politics, economics, and communication, Hannes translates this reality into decision-grade climate and nature risk management—helping organizations quantify and price physical and transition risks, build adaptation investment cases, and embed the results into enterprise risk management, treasury, and strategic planning.

A highly engaging keynote speaker, Hannes delivers science-backed talks on climate risk in business and finance for audiences across sectors. His recent engagements include the 10th Knowledge Summit in Dubai (2025), Project navi.berlin’s year-end event for the Berlin Senate (2025), Freshfields’ Sustainability Days global streaming series (2024), and various lectures and workshops for the Critical Friends Changemaker Akademie (2022–25).

Pricing Climate Risk: Financial Materiality and Risk Pricing in Practice

This lecture examines how climate change and nature degradation translate into financial risk and what it means to price these risks in financial institutions and corporate finance. It shows how risk signals move from hazard and exposure analysis into expected losses, cash-flow volatility, asset valuation, and ultimately cost of capital. The lecture clarifies where conventional, backward-looking models fail under non-stationarity and outlines pragmatic approaches for integrating scenario-based risk pricing into CFO/CRO decision frameworks, capital planning, and risk governance.

Financing Change & Changing Finance: Pricing Risk, Moving Capital

Sustainability and economic stability require financial systems to fulfil two complementary functions: mobilizing capital for transition and resilience (“Financing Change”) and integrating climate- and nature-related risk signals into capital allocation (“Changing Finance”). The lecture explains why markets often underprice physical and transition risks—distorted incentives, delayed losses, uncertainty, and geopolitical fragmentation—and why this raises the likelihood of abrupt repricing. It discusses practical integration pathways and governance approaches, showing how finance can drive risk-aware investment and a more resilient economy.

Climate Resilience & the Business Case for Adaptation

Rising temperatures and degrading ecosystems increasingly disrupt companies through asset damage, supply-chain shocks, and resource constraints, often compounded by geopolitical instability and infrastructure fragility. Climate adaptation and resilience therefore become core business functions: translating climate and nature risk insights into operational priorities, investment plans, and measurable risk reduction. The lecture outlines key risk trends, the role of geospatial risk intelligence and monitoring for site- and supply-chain assessment, and—crucially—how to build the business case for adaptation.

He is a leading climate and nature risk specialist helping organisations understand how environmental disruption is reshaping business, finance and global markets.
He translates complex climate science and geopolitical uncertainty into practical, decision-ready insights for leaders, boards and investment teams.
He brings a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective, combining expertise in risk management, economics, politics and Earth-system science.
He is an engaging and highly informed speaker who makes climate and nature risk accessible, strategic and commercially relevant for diverse audiences.
His insights equip organisations to better assess exposure, strengthen resilience and integrate climate and nature considerations into long-term strategy and decision-making.

Articles, Media & Podcasts

Newsletter: Climate Risk Intel

Publication of MA Thesis

Springer Nature

Comments & Testimonials

At the Tchibo Green Days, Hannes held a fascinating opening keynote. We were thrilled by how skillfully he connected climate science to corporate strategy and practice.

Marijke Schöttmer Lead Sustainability Manager, Tchibo

We hosted Hannes for a workshop in Palau’s ESG community. It turned out to be one of our most successful sessions. He delivered a highly engaging presentation on open-access climate risk tools, guiding us through a complex and evolving landscape with clarity. Many of us discovered new resources, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Maria Tymtsias CoFounder Critical Friends

Hannes spoke for us at the Freshfields Global Sustainability Days. We were impressed by the scientific expertise with which he illustrated the complex interrelationships of sustainability transformation.

Moritz Wessely Event Coordinator, Freshfields

Hannes gave several rousing lectures for our Critical Friends CHANGEMAKER AKADEMIE. He left participants not only with a deep understanding of the climate-ecological crisis and its consequences for the economy, but also motivation for taking action within their firms.

Susanne Schöb CoFounder, Critical Friends