The Business Case for Adaptation

About this episode

Emilie Mazzacurati discusses the shift in corporate investment towards climate resilience and the need for immediate adaptation solutions.

Why are Fortune 500 companies still investing billions in climate resilience while staying publicly silent about it? Emilie Mazzacurati, Founding Partner at Tailwind Futures, didn't start in venture capital—she began in European public policy before pivoting to carbon markets and eventually climate adaptation. After selling her climate risk company 427 to Moody's in 2019, she recognized a critical gap: the innovation ecosystem wasn't supporting adaptation solutions. Her core thesis? "We don't have time to wait for a full cycle of this tiny company that's going to become very big in 10 years. We need the solutions in three years." Emilie argues that climate resilience has shifted from virtue signaling to business imperative. Corporations are still investing heavily in adaptation, just talking about it differently—focusing on economics, risk mitigation, and operational continuity rather than moral arguments. How is your business preparing for climate impacts that are already locked in?

People in this episode

Host: Keith Zakheim

Guest: Emilie Mazzacurati

Topics covered

• climate resilience
• business adaptation
• venture capital
• risk mitigation
• operational continuity

Keywords

• climate adaptation
• Fortune 500
• investment
• innovation ecosystem
• business imperative

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tailwind Futures, Moody's, 427

Places: European

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