IFB Flagship Leader, Professor Nicola Ranger, has joined LSE and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment as the Executive Director of the Earth Capital Nexus, and Professor in Practice for Natural Capital, Risk and Finance.
Nicola will lead a major new initiative focused on the integration of climate and nature-related risks into financial systems and the mobilisation of finance for sustainable development. Her work will advance innovative, actionable research at the intersection of nature, economic development, systemic risk, and finance.
An internationally recognised expert in sustainable finance, Nicola works with financial institutions, ministries of finance, central banks, and international organisations to strengthen financial and fiscal resilience, develop climate and nature-aligned investment frameworks, and embed sustainability into financial architectures.
Nicola brings more than two decades of experience across government, academia, international financial institutions, and the private sector. Her previous roles include senior positions at the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute, the World Bank, the UK Department for International Development (now FCDO), HM Treasury, and Defra. Her work has led to pioneering risk financing mechanisms now protecting vulnerable communities from climate-related disasters around the world.
Nicola is also the Founding Director of the Resilient Planet Finance Lab, which continues as a major collaboration between LSE and the University of Oxford. In addition to her IFB position, she also co-Directs the European Space Agency’s Leveraging Earth Observation for Nature Finance project.
In her new role, Nicola will accelerate the Grantham Institute’s work on the critical links between climate, biodiversity, risk, finance and economic development. She will also serve on the Global Impact Group of LSE’s new Global School of Sustainability, working alongside Lord Professor Nicholas Stern.
Nicola said:
“I’m thrilled to return to LSE as Professor in Practice for Natural Capital, Risk and Finance. I look forward to shaping a bold research agenda on sustainable finance - advancing solutions that make the future not only investable, but liveable and just. And, this move means that Grantham LSE is joining the IFB fold as I continue to lead its Greening Finance for Nature Flagship."