Anna Skarbek’s Climateworks Leadership Steers Net-Zero Policy & Sustainable Finance

Gist

Anna Skarbek leads Climateworks Centre, drawing on a rare mix of legal, financial, and climate policy expertise.
Under her leadership, Climateworks has evolved into a key influencer of Australia’s net zero targets, climate legislation, corporate transition plans, and sustainable finance tools.
Its work includes net zero pathways, green indices, and natural capital frameworks that are becoming de facto standards for investors, companies, and governments.
Skarbek’s appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia underscores the growing recognition of climate action as a core economic and strategic priority.

Anna Skarbek’s background represents a rare convergence of legal, financial, and policy expertise, which directly informs her strategic positioning of Climateworks Centre. Her experience across investment banking (Macquarie), advisory roles (Climate Change Capital), and governmental policy advising frames a capability to both model large‐scale climate solutions and push for implementation through multiple levers. [2][1]

Since its inception, Climateworks under her leadership has transitioned from a research body into a highly influential actor that helps shape legislation, industry norms, investment frameworks, and actual climate outcomes. Its outputs—net zero pathways reports, indices, sustainable finance taxonomies—have positioned the organisation as a bridge between technical expertise and regulatory/market action. [3][4][5]

Her award of Member of the Order of Australia in June 2025 reflects national validation of both her leadership and the growing mainstream acceptance that climate policy and climate risk are central to business and government strategy—making climate risk an ESG concern as well as a strategic investment issue. [7][4]

Strategically, several key implications emerge:

Businesses and investors face increasing pressure to develop credible transition plans; tools and frameworks coming from organisations like Climateworks are likely to become de facto standards.
Decarbonisation pathways are not just environmental policy—they have direct economic implications; winners may include companies and sectors aligned with renewables, nature restoration, and low carbon supply chains.
Regional expansion (e.g. Southeast Asia) and natural capital integration (e.g. land, biodiversity) indicate future growth areas for carbon finance, regulatory influence and investment flows.
The shift to earlier net zero targets (before 2040 in Australia, earlier for regional partners) suggests urgency in transition is compressing timelines for both policy and corporate action.

Open questions remain regarding:

The capacities of companies and financial institutions to deliver credible, transparent transition plans (e.g. data, governance, technology).
The interaction of national and sub‐national policies (e.g. between states and the federal government) given that many early net zero targets were set at state levels before national alignment.
The feasibility of bringing forward net zero in large, emissions‐intensive economies in Southeast Asia, and the mechanisms required for finance, capacity, technology transfer and governance to support this.

Supporting Notes

Anna Skarbek has served as a solicitor with Mallesons Stephen Jacques, as an investment banker in Macquarie Bank’s energy and utilities team, and as senior policy advisor to the Victorian Deputy Premier and Minister for Environment, Water and Climate Change. [2][1][5]
From 2007 to 2009 she was Vice President, Advisory, at Climate Change Capital in London, focusing on raising/deploying capital for low carbon activities. [1][2][5]
Since co‐founding Climateworks Centre in 2009 under Monash Sustainable Development Institute and philanthropy, she has led independent research and advisory work analyzing emissions reduction opportunities for governments and businesses. [2][3][1]
Climateworks has grown to around 100 staff, operating in Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and Jakarta. Its programs cover transport, household energy upgrades, gas phase-out, corporate transition planning, green supply chains, land sector scenarios integrating biodiversity and food production. [4][3][5]
Climateworks has created influential tools: first forward-looking green equities index for the ASX300; corporate net zero alignment tracker; natural capital measurement catalog. [4][3]
Governments at state and national levels have adopted formal net zero targets after receiving Climateworks’ decarbonisation pathways; the organization’s modelling has been cited in national Paris Agreement pathways advice. [4][5]
In the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours, Anna Skarbek was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for “significant service to conservation and the environment in leadership and board roles.” [7][4]
She holds multiple board and advisory roles: director of Green Building Council of Australia; advisory board member for GFANZ Asia Pacific; director of Net Zero Economy Authority; member of Nature Finance Council. [2][3][4]

Anna Skarbek’s Climateworks Leadership Steers Net-Zero Policy & Sustainable Finance

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