Fighting Climate Change with Finance

For the past year, I’ve been using this blog to spotlight climate solutions in Israel, climate nonprofits with explicitly Jewish missions and Jewish elected officials working on climate issues. But today, I want to shine a light on something a little different: a nonprofit that isn’t “Jewish” in name or focus — yet is profoundly shaped by Jewish values and led by two remarkable Jewish leaders.

That nonprofit is Ceres, one of the most influential organizations working to align capital markets with sustainability and climate resilience. At the helm of Ceres are two powerhouses: Mindy Lubber, its longtime CEO and President, and Steven M. Rothstein, the founding Managing Director of its Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets.
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Mindy and Steven are global changemakers. But they’re also Jewish parents and grandparents whose values have helped shape the course of their lives — and, as a result, the future of our planet.

Unlike groups that rally people around the moral urgency of climate change, Ceres focuses on the balance sheet. Climate change isn’t just an ethical challenge — it’s a material risk. It’s costing us billions in damage, devastating businesses, destabilizing markets, and threatening long-term economic security. As weather extremes, insurance withdrawals, and resource shortages become more frequent and severe, this crisis is no longer abstract. It’s happening now — and it’s expensive.

State and local governments are already feeling the heat. Climate-related disasters like the wildfires in California and extreme flooding across the Midwest and Northeast are soaking up public resources. The result? Less funding available for schools, healthcare, infrastructure, and public safety. Climate change isn’t a problem of the future — it’s a budget crisis we’re experiencing today.

Rothstein was recently in Maryland to speak at a groundbreaking panel surrounding the release of Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman’s State Spending Series: Climate Change Costs report. Lierman is a super star on climate accounting and accountability, and her partnership with CERES and many others makes her able to deliver even more impact for our state. For full disclosure, I also am a member of her robust Climate Advisory Council, which has a talented group of experts from diverse backgrounds who deliver wonderful ideas. It’s an example of how civic engagement strengthens governments and states.

Still, it’s key to have partners like Ceres.

Through cutting-edge reports, investor networks, and smart advocacy, Ceres is moving massive financial institutions — including insurers and banks — toward policies and practices that factor in climate risks and accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy.

Their recent publications, including the “10-Point Plan for the Insurance Industry” and “Ahead or Behind? The State of Climate Finance in the Banking Sector, are essential reading for financial leaders navigating the most urgent risks of our time. Their analysis of more than 500 insurance groups’ climate disclosures, and their Blueprint for Implementing a Leading Climate Transition Action Plan, are changing the playbook for what responsible financial leadership looks like. And through initiatives like Freedom to Invest, they’re defending the right of fiduciaries to protect clients and shareholders from climate-related financial risks.

These are not fringe efforts. They’re reshaping the mainstream — and that’s in no small part because of Mindy and Steven.

Mindy Lubber has led Ceres since 2003. Under her guidance, the organization has become a trusted force among Fortune 500 companies, pension fund leaders, and government officials. She helped secure corporate support for the Paris Agreement and has been honored by the United Nations, Earth Day Network, Barron’s, and Vogue, which named her a “Climate Warrior.”

Steven Rothstein came to Ceres after an extraordinary career leading social change institutions — from the Perkins School for the Blind to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. He’s been a founder, CEO, and advocate for more than four decades. So why pivot to climate at this stage of life?

As he explained recently: “It is clear to me, this is the way to have the biggest impact — especially in these challenging times, especially for my 2-year-old granddaughter.”

Steven also draws on his Jewish upbringing: “Early on, my parents taught us that for those who have much, much is expected. This is based on our Jewish faith.”

That resonates deeply with me. Jewish tradition commands us to act when we see injustice, to protect the vulnerable, and to care for future generations. In the fight against climate change, those principles aren’t just moral imperatives — they’re guiding lights in one of the most high-stakes struggles of our time.

Mindy and Steven are living examples of how Jewish values can show up powerfully outside explicitly Jewish institutions. Their work is proof that leadership doesn’t have to wear a Star of David to be rooted in Jewish ethics. In fact, some of the biggest wins for our future are coming from people who quietly bring those values into boardrooms, policy meetings, and financial markets.

So as we continue to support Jewish climate groups — and we must — let’s also recognize and uplift the many Jewish leaders working in broader, secular spaces who are changing the world in profoundly Jewish ways. Mindy Lubber and Steven Rothstein are doing just that. And because of their leadership — and Ceres’ bold, pragmatic work — the world has a fighting chance at a more just, livable, and sustainable future for all of us.