Advancing Climate Intelligence: S&P Global has launched the S&P Global Climate Center of Excellence, aimed at enhancing long-term climate, environmental, and nature research. The center brings together top scientists and strategists to develop methodologies and collaborate across S&P Global divisions, including S&P Global Ratings and S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Driving Innovation

The new center will help tackle complex climate challenges, foster thought leadership, and build academic partnerships to advance research and innovation. It will also provide actionable intelligence to S&P Global’s customers, such as investors, banks, and companies, ensuring that climate solutions are grounded in robust science.

Its mission is to:

• Tackle complex methodological challenges in climate and environmental science to support long-term innovation.
• Support the next generation of science-driven thought leadership to provide intelligence to the market.
• Build external academic partnerships to inform cutting-edge research and innovation.
• Partner across S&P Global to leverage our in-house scientific and economic expertise and robust suite of data, analytics, insights and research to help drive transparency on climate and sustainability issues deemed critical by the markets.
• Cultivate learning opportunities for S&P Global employees to elevate science-based thinking on climate and sustainability issues throughout the company.

Related Article: S&P Global Launches World’s First Daily Carbon-Accounted Iron Ore Price Assessments

Voices from S&P Global

Dr. Terence Thompson, Chief Science Officer, emphasized the mission: “To push the frontiers in climate research, S&P Global scientists are diving into some of the most complex data and modelling challenges in the physical and economic sciences.”

Thomas Yagel, Chief Operating and Product Officer for S&P Global Sustainable1, added: “Developing the most innovative climate risk data solutions requires collaboration across the industry… we are excited to partner with leading experts in the academic and scientific community to ensure our climate solutions are grounded in best-in-class science.”

Why This Matters for ESG Investors

The launch of S&P Global’s Climate Center of Excellence is a strategic move to standardize how climate science is translated into Market Intelligence. For ESG investors, this center represents three critical shifts in the 2026 landscape:

1. Bridging the “Science-to-Finance” Gap

Investors often struggle with “raw” climate data that isn’t formatted for financial modeling.

• The Impact: By uniting top scientists with S&P Global’s strategists, this center aims to turn complex physical climate risks (like drought or flooding) into Actionable Intelligence. This allows portfolio managers to underwrite climate risk with the same rigor they use for interest rates or inflation.

2. Enhancing Data Transparency & Quality

In a 2026 market plagued by “Greenwashing” concerns, the center’s focus on methodological challenges is vital.

• The Impact: S&P Global has reported that up to 47% of corporate climate disclosures contain inconsistencies. This center acts as a “validator,” ensuring that the climate risk data used in S&P Dow Jones Indices and S&P Global Ratings is grounded in peer-reviewed science, reducing the risk of “data-driven” investment errors.

3. Advancing the “Adaptation Alpha”

While much of the market focuses on mitigation (carbon reduction), this center is explicitly diving into Adaptation and Resilience.

• The Impact: As we move toward a 1.5°C+ world, investors are shifting capital toward companies that are building resilient supply chains. The “science-driven thought leadership” from this center will help investors identify which firms are actually future-proofing their assets versus those just checking a compliance box.

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