HUMSS - Debjani Bhattacharyya

Insuring Winds: Financial History of Climate Science

Profitable decarbonization and the greening of asset portfolios are increasingly used to mitigate climate threats. Are there historical antecedents to using financial instruments to tackle climate threats? This talk shows how, from the 18^th century on, both British imperial expansion in the Indian ocean and the simultaneous expansion of the marine insurance industry initiated a process of financializing weather events. Actuarial innovations to tackle cyclones and wrecks played a critical role in shaping nineteenth-century theories of climate disturbance. Bridging financial and climate history, this talk documents how the Indian Ocean became a laboratory of climate science and financial innovation from the late 18^th century.