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Stockholm Climate Leadership Forum 2026

people sitting on chair in front of laptop computers

Stockholm Climate Leadership Forum 2026

people sitting on chair in front of laptop computers

Stockholm Climate Leadership Forum 2026

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2026 · Upcoming Forum

AI, Climate Adaptation, and the Ripple Effects Reshaping the Global Economy, Infrastructure, and National Security

AI, Climate Adaptation, and the Ripple Effects Reshaping the Global Economy, Infrastructure, and National Security

Climate adaptation is no longer a side topic. It is the operating system of future competitiveness, resilience and security.

Climate adaptation is no longer a side topic. It is the operating system of future competitiveness, resilience and security.

The next decade will not be defined only by decarbonisation or mitigation. It will be defined by our ability to adapt, absorb shocks, and build resilient societies, economies, infrastructure systems, food systems, energy systems and supply chains.

The next decade will not be defined only by decarbonisation or mitigation. It will be defined by our ability to adapt, absorb shocks, and build resilient societies, economies, infrastructure systems, food systems, energy systems and supply chains.

Climate adaptation is no longer a defensive response to environmental risk. It has become a strategic foundation for competitiveness, sovereignty, stability and long-term prosperity.

Climate adaptation is no longer a defensive response to environmental risk. It has become a strategic foundation for competitiveness, sovereignty, stability and long-term prosperity.

Why This Theme, Why Now

From Climate Risk to Systemic Risk

From Climate Risk to Systemic Risk

A drought becomes a supply-chain disruption. A flood becomes a credit event. A failed harvest becomes political instability. A grid constraint limits AI deployment.

A drought becomes a supply-chain disruption. A flood becomes a credit event. A failed harvest becomes political instability. A grid constraint limits AI deployment.

Climate change has entered our balance sheets, insurance models, food prices, infrastructure planning, national security strategies and public trust. A shortage of water, soil health or critical materials can reshape economic power.

Climate change has entered our balance sheets, insurance models, food prices, infrastructure planning, national security strategies and public trust. A shortage of water, soil health or critical materials can reshape economic power.

The UNFCCC defines adaptation as adjustments in ecological, social or economic systems in response to actual or expected climate effects. For SCLF, the goal is to translate this into leadership language: adaptation is not only environmental planning - it is economic strategy.

The Question at the Centre of 2026

How do we build resilient societies and economies when climate, technology, AI, finance, energy, infrastructure and security are no longer separate systems, but deeply connected forces?

How do we build resilient societies and economies when climate, technology, AI, finance, energy, infrastructure and security are no longer separate systems, but deeply connected forces?

01

How should companies price physical climate risk?

02

How should investors finance resilience?

03

How should AI be deployed responsibly when its own infrastructure depends on energy, water, chips and grids?

04

How can food, water, materials and energy systems be designed for shock absorption rather than maximum short-term efficiency?

05

How can Europe strengthen sovereignty through adaptation, innovation and long-term capital allocation?

The Ripple Effects Framework

Understanding the Ripple Effects

Understanding the Ripple Effects

A climate shock becomes an economic shock.

Extreme weather affects harvests, logistics, infrastructure, insurance and prices.

An economic shock becomes a social shock.

Food inflation, energy volatility and infrastructure failure weaken household security and institutional trust.

A social shock becomes a political and security shock.

When systems fail repeatedly, public confidence erodes and national resilience becomes a strategic concern.

A technological shock becomes an infrastructure shock.

AI may help us forecast, optimise and adapt - but it also depends on electricity, cooling, data centres, semiconductors, fibre networks and capital.

Climate

→

Food & Water

→

Infrastructure

→

Finance

→

AI

→

Security

→

Society

The Themes of 2026

Six connected systems

Six connected systems

Each theme is examined as both a source of risk and a lever for resilience, the questions each session will address.

Each theme is examined as both a source of risk and a lever for resilience, the questions each session will address.

For business, adaptation means more than protection against physical risk. It means redesigning strategy, governance, operations, supply chains and investment for a world of greater volatility. PwC and WBCSD's adaptation guidance stresses integrating resilience into core business functions, governance, operations and the value chain.

—Pricing Risk: physical climate risk, asset repricing, insurance, credit exposure
—Building Resilience: infrastructure, food, energy, logistics, water and materials
—Allocating Capital: from short-term efficiency to long-term adaptive capacity
—Creating Advantage: resilience as competitiveness, not cost

Increased public and private investment will be needed in activities that reduce harm or realise opportunities from climate impacts. The OECD Climate Adaptation Investment Framework points to climate-resilient infrastructure, food systems and supply chains. BCG frames adaptation and resilience financing as a major opportunity for banks, as physical risks already affect operations, asset integrity and supply chains.

—Adaptation finance, insurance and risk transfer
—Resilient infrastructure and food and agriculture finance
—Public-private capital models and climate risk disclosure
—Sovereign resilience and national balance sheets

AI must be governed as infrastructure, not treated as magic. It can forecast floods, model crop stress, optimise energy systems and improve early-warning, but it is not weightless. It requires electricity, data centres, cooling, chips, transmission and capital. The question is not whether AI matters, but how to deploy it wisely, where it creates genuine resilience, and where its hidden infrastructure costs must be understood.

—AI for climate risk forecasting and early-warning
—AI for agriculture, water resilience and grid intelligence
—AI infrastructure: energy, cooling, chips and sovereignty
—The productivity paradox: human judgement and governance

Agriculture is not merely a sector. It is the foundation beneath social peace, trade, health, land use, biodiversity and national security. When soil, water, pollinators and harvests are destabilised, the effects travel far beyond the farm, into food prices, public budgets, migration pressures, political instability and geopolitical risk.

—Soil and water security; pollinators and ecosystem services
—Climate-resilient food systems and agriculture finance
—Food inflation and social stability
—Land use, biodiversity and public goods

The digital economy is still built on physical foundations: energy, grids, metals, minerals, water, land and materials. Climate adaptation and AI both depend on these foundations. Without resilient infrastructure, abundant clean energy, circular materials and secure supply chains, neither digital transformation nor climate resilience can scale.

—Climate-resilient infrastructure and grid capacity
—Energy security; circular and advanced materials
—Critical minerals and supply chains
—Data centres, resource demand and European industrial resilience

In a more volatile world, resilience is becoming a question of sovereignty. Food systems, water access, energy grids, AI infrastructure, materials supply chains and financial stability are no longer separate policy areas. They are the strategic architecture of national security.

—Food, water and energy security
—AI sovereignty and critical materials capacity
—Infrastructure protection
—Public trust and institutional resilience

What Have We Planned

Session I — AI, Infrastructure and National Resilience

Coffee Break

Session II — Climate Adaptation, Finance and the Ripple Effects

Live Music / Concert

Champagne Reception

Black Tie Gala Dinner

Who Should Attend

For Leaders Who Think Across Systems

For Leaders Who Think Across Systems

Business leaders and board members

Investors, banks, insurers and family offices

Policymakers, diplomats and public-sector leaders

Scientists and academic experts

Infrastructure, energy, food, water and materials leaders

AI, deep tech and industrial innovators

Express Interest