The UK CGFI Internship Programme develops the next generation of physical climate risk analysts while addressing skills gaps and climate-related challenges faced by the financial and related sectors. As the financial landscape continues to evolve, taking advantage of this programme offers a strategic advantage in the Net Zero agenda. The programme provides opportunities to host full-time postgraduate or postdoc interns for up to 6 months, supported by a UK CGFI mentor.
The climate has already changed, and we are experiencing weather extremes today that would have been much less likely 25 or 50 years ago. Some further changes in extreme weather are now locked in. Combining the latest academic science with the cutting-edge modelling in the finance industry is vital to address the climate challenge. This internship offers benefits to both sides by helping an important private sector organisation access new climate science and by providing a learning opportunity to academia of how better to pull our science through to applications
For our first internship, we have partnered with the flood risk consultancy and modelling company JBA Risk Management. JBA’s flood maps, catastrophe models, and data are used by some of the world’s largest insurers, reinsurers, financial institutions, property companies, and governments. Climate change ‘loads the dice’ for extreme events such as floods, potentially affecting their severity, frequency, and location. This raises the question of whether historic flood data reflects current flood risk – a crucial issue for JBA’s clients and regulators.
“We’re excited to be hosting Bailey on this placement with CGFI. JBA has a long history of deep, two-way engagement with academia and academic research. We lead the way on integrating the latest science and technology into our models and data, all to provide our clients with a better understanding of today’s and tomorrow’s flood risk and help build resilience in a changing climate. Working closely with leading academic institutions like the University of Leeds, and excellent next-generation scientists like Bailey, is crucial in helping us with this mission.”
To tackle this challenge Bailey Andrew, our first intern, is looking at how we can calculate present day flood risk, and investigate new approaches using observations and modelling with support from experts at JBA, and CGFI via the University of Leeds. Bailey is a PhD student studying the application of statistics and AI to real-world problems.
I am looking forward to working on state-of-the-art techniques for modelling floods, and hope that this will result in a more robust understanding of the risks that climate change poses.”
As well as generating new understandings of flood risk for JBA, the project will contribute to CGFI’s broader mission of advancing green finance solutions and supporting the transition to a sustainable global economy. We’re developing additional internships with the Bank of England and Building Societies Association to drive this work further. For more details, please contact Patricia Grant who is spearheading the programme.
We’re delighted to be partnering with JBA Risk Management on our first CGFI placement. To ensure the financial sector can apply climate and environmental analytics in its decision making, we need to get people with climate data and analytics skills into financial institutions and consultancies. Internships enable us to rapidly apply innovative ideas and approaches from research straight to urgent industry challenges and accelerate the use of climate and environmental risk analytics in institutional investment and finance
Since launching our programme in June 2024, it has become clear that there is a significant demand for climate interns within the financial sector. This programme is further strengthened by the collaborative support our hub provides through co-created projects and co-support. By integrating climate science with the financial sector, we are addressing industry-led challenges that will make a real impact
