If an open source project like Kubernetes can change the entire cloud computing industry within five years, then open source could change how the financial industry makes investment decisions around climate change as well — and do it fast.

This is the reasoning behind the Linux Foundation Climate Finance (LFCF) Foundation — a partnership between the nonprofit foundation behind the Kubernetes project and an alliance of financial firms, large cloud providers, and nonprofit organizations.

LFCF aims to build an open source data analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning in the cloud to crunch the massive amounts of data that investors need to calculate the climate risks and opportunities in their portfolios. Such a collaboration is needed to raise the estimated $1.2 trillion in investment per year in order to meet the Paris Climate Accord targets for curbing climate change by 2050.

With better data and modeling, investors will be able to assess the climate impact of their investments and the potential risks involved. They will more freely lend to or invest in companies and asset classes that help lower carbon emissions as well as hold the companies they invest in accountable for meeting climate goals.

“There are a whole lot of data resources, but many of them aren’t accessible or really usable by investors,” said Truman Semans, CEO of the resulting OS-Climate platform and a project lead on the LFCF. “And for that reason, a lot of investment decisions aren’t taking into account the data related to climate risk or opportunities that would cause money to move.”

Drawing on their familiarity with open source, OS-Climate and its partners circulated the idea of addressing climate change through open source among IBM President and former Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst and other leaders in the open source community.

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