Rewiring Boardroom Leadership for the Climate-Nature Nexus: Reflections from Geneva

By Karlygash Imanbayeva, Founder and Chair, Chapter Zero Kazakhstan

“Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.” — Pim Valdre, closing remarks, WEF–CGI Forum, Geneva, 20 June 2025.

From 19–20 June 2025 in Geneva, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) convened over 40 board members, policymakers, scientists and advisors for the high-level forum “Mobilizing Climate Leadership in Complex Times.” Kazakhstan was represented by Chapter Zero Kazakhstan (CZK), which joined global peers for two days of scenario planning, peer learning, and board-level strategy sessions.

The stakes were clear: with $44 trillion of global GDP moderately or highly dependent on nature and climate-related economic losses projected to reach $43 trillion by 2100, boards can no longer afford to treat environmental risks as peripheral.

Three Goals That Framed the Geneva Dialogue

In his opening scene-setting, Sebastian Buckup, Head of Network and Partnerships at WEF, emphasized the transformation underway in boardrooms globally. “This isn’t about choosing between short-term returns and long-term resilience,” he said. “It’s about reframing fiduciary duty for a systemic world.” He challenged directors to “take the climate and nature lens beyond compliance — toward long-term value creation.”

Three goals anchored the convening:

1. Equip boards with actionable tools, partnerships, and strategies to operationalize stewardship on climate and nature.

2. Use the forum as a sounding board for refreshing the Principles for Effective Climate Governance — this time incorporating nature and systemic complexity.

3. Re-energize leadership in the face of rising headwinds — from political gridlock to policy reversals.

   
   

The forum became a real-time laboratory: board members stress-tested frameworks, shared governance innovations, and asked hard questions about their role in future-proofing decision-making. In Pim Valdre’swords: “Disclosure is not the destination. It’s the doorway. Governance capability is what lies on the other side.”

Boards at a Tipping Point

As emphasized by Mark Hodsman, Head of WEF’s Global Risks Initiative, “we’re not here to wave white flags — we’re here to raise red flags.” The WEF Global Risks Report 2025 painted a stark picture: while geopolitical conflict dominates short-term anxieties, environmental risks — extreme weather, biodiversity loss, pollution, and resource scarcity — top the long-term threats to global well-being and economic stability. Yet, most governance systems remain ill-equipped to internalize these into strategy, capital allocation, and executive incentives.

The climate science shared by Professor Anders Levermann (Potsdam Institute) reminded participants that the 1.5°C threshold has already been temporarily breached. We are entering a world of non-linear risks — where permafrost thaw, biodiversity collapse, and tipping points converge. As one board chair put it, “This isn’t a dashboard problem. It’s a cockpit problem.”

Emily Farnworth, Co-Director of the Centre for Climate Engagement at Cambridge and Steering Committee member of CGI, reinforced the need for strategic scenario thinking at board level: “It’s not enough to know the risk. You need to build readiness into the governance structure — that means having the right conversations, at the right cadence, with the right data.”

Her call resonated with Chapter Zero Kazakhstan, where too often climate remains in the “ESG corner” of board agendas. In Geneva, we saw how leading boards are shifting from fragmented oversight to integrated risk framing, with some even establishing “hotspot committees” to proactively address systemic vulnerabilities across climate, supply chains, and regulation.

From Nature as an Externality to Nature as Strategy

Nature moved from the sidelines to the center. Eva Zabey, CEO of Business for Nature, delivered a powerful intervention: “Nature is infrastructure — not scenery.” Her point was echoed in several boardroom case studies: whether through TNFD-aligned disclosures, regenerative sourcing, or water resilience strategies, the governance of ecosystem dependencies is emerging as a new fiduciary imperative.

Kazakhstan, where water stress and biodiversity loss are rising rapidly, must heed this. The vanishing Caspian Sea, degraded pasturelands, and cross-border resource pressures require not just ecological responses — but governance innovation.

As Pim Valdre stated during the Principles Refresh sessions: “Boards must evolve beyond box-ticking. Investors and stakeholders are no longer looking for ‘what’ — they want to see the ‘how.’ Where’s the accountability? Where’s the internal capability? Where’s the integration into strategy?”

This future-facing view of board leadership — one rooted in competence, courage, and community — shaped the second day’s workshops.

The Principles Refresh: From Risk Framing to Systemic Readiness

One of the central purposes of Geneva was to prepare for the refresh of the WEF Principles for Effective Climate Governance, first launched in 2019. This new version will:

• Expand to include nature governance and planetary boundaries

• Embed science-based transition planning and board-level accountability

• Encourage boards to assess their own competencies, cultures, and incentives.

Participants served as a live testbed for this refresh. As Pim reminded the group: “If everyone is responsible, no one is. That’s why these principles must be usable — not aspirational.”

A draft of the revised Principles is expected ahead of Davos 2026, and CGI has committed to inclusive consultations, especially with frontier markets and resource-based economies.

What It Means for Kazakhstan

In Kazakhstan, where fossil dependency, climate vulnerability, and governance gaps intersect, the Geneva message is clear:

• Boards must embed climate and nature into core business strategy, not compliance checklists;

• Internal capacity-building — from carbon pricing to climate literacy — is vital;

• Transparent transition planning will be required to align with CBAM, TNFD, and evolving EU standards.

Chapter Zero Kazakhstan is committed to translating global insights into local impact. That includes:

• Partnering with directors to build governance literacy around climate and nature;

• Supporting internal carbon pricing and transition planning at board level;

• Advocating for nature-inclusive ESG governance in both SOEs and listed companies;

• Building a national community of non-executive directors equipped for the decade of disruption.

As Julie Baddeley said, “the work we do is tough — but it’s heartening to work alongside kindred spirits.” This was the spirit in Geneva. Kazakhstan’s directors must now carry that spirit into the boardrooms shaping our collective future.

Kazakhstan has a chance to be part of that transformation.

Let’s lead with purpose.

Let’s lead together.