Jeevan Vasagar Keynote Speaker

Award-winning journalist on climate change
Climate Editor, The Observer
Author of 'The Surge and Lion City'

Jeevan Vasagar's Biography

Jeevan Vasagar draws on extensive experience of reporting around the world and interviews with political and business leaders to provide an informed perspective on climate and the environment. He is climate editor of The Observer, travelling around Britain and abroad to cover the impacts of a warming planet and efforts to tackle the climate crisis.

In spring 2026, his next book The Surge: The Race Against the Most Destructive Force in Nature will be published by HarperCollins. He gives an account of humanity’s battle against the rising waters and the radical choices that need to be made – combining resistance and accommodation – as we reimagine our societies for a world of more extreme weather.

He has worked as a journalist reporting on the environment since 2021, and before that, was at the Financial Times as Singapore correspondent and Berlin correspondent, and at The Guardian as education editor and Nairobi correspondent. His first book Lion City: Singapore and the Invention of Modern Asia, was published in 2021 by Little,Brown.

Risk and opportunity for business in climate adaptation

Managing the threat of floods in cities

The financial consequences of extreme weather

Combining nature and technology to adapt to climate change

The future of climate diplomacy

He brings real-time authority on markets, inflation and policy as Sky News Economics and Data Editor, helping leaders make sense of fast-moving economic signals and what they mean for strategy.
He translates the hidden mechanics of the global economy into board-ready insight through his bestselling book Material World, shortlisted by the Financial Times’ Business Book of the Year award, connecting supply chains, commodities and geopolitics to real business risk.
He adds on-the-ground reporting depth from travelling from Europe’s deepest mines to Taiwan’s chip fabs and lithium production sites, giving audiences a vivid, practical understanding of the materials that underpin growth and the energy transition.
He sharpens how organisations communicate about complex economic issues as a regular columnist for The Times and The Sunday Times, equipping audiences to move from headlines to clear decisions with confidence.
He brings historical perspective that improves decision-making under uncertainty through acclaimed books including The Summit on Bretton Woods and 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know, helping audiences connect today’s shocks to the systems built to manage them.