Why Climate Inaction Is the Biggest Financial Risk - Scobie Mackay (Co-founder & CEO, Imperative)

In this episode of the Carbon Exposure Project, we sit down with Scobie Mackay, Co-Founder & CEO of Imperative, to unpack what it will take to make nature a genuinely investable asset class.Scobie brings a rare perspective — combining 15+ years in structured finance at Macquarie and Standard Chartered with hands-on experience developing infrastructure-grade nature-based carbon removal projects across the Global South.We explore why capital has struggled to flow into nature at scale, why delivery and reputational risk remain misunderstood, and why the risk of climate inaction is still not being priced into financial decision-making — despite trillions of dollars at stake.This is a conversation about projects, execution, and capital discipline, not theory.🔍 What we coverWhy the risk of climate and biodiversity inaction remains off balance sheetTreating nature-based carbon projects like infrastructure, not offsetsProfessionalising project development to attract institutional capitalDelivery risk, permanence, and why “day-one diligence” isn’t enoughBuilding large-scale native ecosystem and mangrove restoration projectsLong-term offtakes, insurance, and managing commodity price riskWhy biodiversity outcomes are already commanding a market premium⏱️ Chapters00:00 Introduction02:30 From finance to climate05:20 Climate and biodiversity as a test of collective intelligence06:40 Discovering carbon markets08:40 Why institutional capital struggles with carbon projects11:15 Treating nature projects like infrastructure14:45 Imperative’s focus: nature-based removals17:00 Flight to quality and removals20:10 Execution risk and project controls24:00 In-house execution and long-term operations27:40 Risk in carbon markets32:10 Pricing the risk of climate inaction40:00 Insurance, offtakes, and delivery guarantees46:50 Biodiversity premiums and market signals53:00 Making nature investable

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