How the biggest bank in the US is approaching climate risk

Last week the All Things Sustainable podcast was on the ground in New York City bringing you daily episodes from Climate Week NYC. The week included more than 1,000 events and convened an estimated 100,000 attendees from the private sector, governments, nonprofits and the broader climate community.

To understand how financial institutions are showing up in these climate conversations, we sat down with Heather Zichal. Heather is Global Head of Sustainability at the largest bank in the US, JPMorganChase, and she shares her Climate Week key takeaways. She explains why adaptation and resilience are a growing area of focus, and how this is impacting conversations around insurance. She talks about the rising role of AI in climate and energy transition discussions. And she tells us how the landscape for climate and sustainability is shifting heading into 2026.  

“There's a very healthy dose of pragmatism that has been layered into the conversations,” Heather tells us.  

This conversation took place at The Nest Climate Campus, where the All Things Sustainable podcast was an official media partner during Climate Week NYC. Listen to all our coverage here: All Things Sustainable | S&P Global 

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Listen to our interview with Dr. Sarah Kapnick here: How NOAA is working to turn climate science into action | S&P Global 

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1 and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.  

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