Simon Zadek

The BwB Talk Series gives our international network the opportunity to engage with and learn from innovative leaders in impact, finance, and the environment. The deep knowledge and experience shared across the series provides new perspectives, strengthens our market intelligence, and generates new ideas.

The urgent need for new climate adaptation narratives

“1.5°C is not simply a physical, scientific, and policy-determined target. It has actually become part of the problem. It has ended up not driving us to act ambitiously around climate… As we move beyond 1.5°C, the underlying challenge is how we use this disaster not to think ‘smartly’, but to think differently… to think about what might be done that would have been unthinkable before and may now be the only way to move forward.”

Simon Zadek is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Morphosis, a transformative adaptation solutions business for the climate-impacted world beyond 1.5°C. An internationally recognised leader in sustainable finance and economic transformation, Simon was the pioneering force behind the evolution of Nature Finance and is now investing his expertise in driving climate adaptation activity. His career has been defined by bold innovation, systemic disruption, and a willingness to challenge norms to drive meaningful impact.

Simon’s move to focus primarily on adaptation solutions reflects a critical insight: adaptation is not optional – it is essential. Despite this reality, adaptation financing – particularly from private capital – remains little more than an afterthought. Simon highlighted that although about US$2tn in climate finance was invested last year, just US$75bn was allocated to adaptation, about 96% of which was public money. Even in a 2-2.5°C scenario, annual adaptation finance requirements could be up to US$300bn.

With the need for adaptation to rise from the sidelines and become a central focus, Simon’s presentation explored crucial questions around thinking differently about how finance might operate in the future, the role of institutional support, and meeting basic human needs.

Question Time

Simon’s presentation generated a lively Q&A session. Some of the key themes of the discussion are summarised below.

Lack of a coherent adaptation narrative

There is currently no clear or compelling story around climate adaptation. It is often seen as a distraction or an admission of failure, rather than as a core part of the climate solution set. The sector needs a unifying vision to drive ambition, policy, and investment.

Solidarity and systemic risk

Solidarity may become one of the world’s most critical future scarcities. In imagining a future where traditional global institutions have waned, there is an urgent and critical need to reimagine cooperation and finance models that transcend national interests – particularly as financial systems withdraw from highly climate-vulnerable regions.

Rethinking finance for a disrupted world

“We're not just solving for instruments – we must rethink how finance works in an increasingly fragmented and climate-disrupted global economy. This includes enabling access to financial services for the most vulnerable and designing investment strategies that address long-term resilience.”

Simon explained that Morphosis’ mission is to drive action on these issues by generating solutions for catalysing and delivering adaptation at scale.

With its recent launch of themailto:contact@bwb.earth Adaptation Centre of Excellence, BwB is also working to deliver transformative solutions. Partnering with governments, institutions, and investors to unlock the capital and innovation required for a more resilient future, the firm is addressing the urgent need for adaptation-specific financial mechanisms and private capital mobilisation.

Sincere thanks to Simon for a thought-provoking session and engaging conversation.

If you're working in adaptation – whether in government, policy, finance, or business – we’d love to discuss how we can collaborate to build a more resilient future.

Contact us via LinkedIn or at contact@bwb.earth