Jeremy Grantham

A new powerhouse to generate ideas for action on climate change was switched on by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) as it launched the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.   LSE also announced a partnership with insurance giant Munich Re, which is investing £3 million in research to learn more about the economic impact of climate change.

The Grantham Research Institute, under the leadership of Lord Stern of Brentford, will produce research and analysis on how society, politicians and financiers can hope to respond effectively to a warming world.  Its innovative research program will include the work at the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy (chaired by Professor Lord Stern) which has announced it is joining forces with Munich Re.  The funding from Munich Re – one of the world’s leading reinsurers with huge expertise in assessing risks from natural catastrophes and the effects of climate change on their frequency and intensity - will pay for research which sheds new light on how climate change will shape the business markets of the future.

Philanthropists Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham founded the Grantham Institute at LSE with a donation of £12 million from their charitable foundation. The Economic and Social Research Council is contributing more than £5 million to fund the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy which was awarded jointly to LSE and the University of Leeds in open competition and, which is directed by Professor Judith Rees and Professor Andy Gouldson.

Jeremy Grantham, Professor Ian Diamond of the ESRC, Dr von Bomhardt and Professor Stern all spoke at a public lecture to launch the Grantham Research Institute, which aims not only to inform and shape global policy on climate change but to stimulate public debate and understanding of the issues.