Making Data Flow for the Climate Risk Market

Abstract

In 2011, the U.K. government announced that the national meteorological agency would be releasing a significant volume of data as part of its Open Data policy agenda. This article explores the interrelationship between this announcement and efforts to boost the competitiveness of the United Kingdom's weather derivatives industry. Primary qualitative data are analyzed to produce a genealogical account of these policy developments, and Braman's concept of "informational power" is used to frame a critical narrative of the broader dynamics of power at play. We argue that although there have been significant tensions around efforts to open the United Kingdom's weather data, these have largely been absorbed by and, ultimately, contained within the hegemonic structures of the United Kingdom's neoliberal state. We conclude by arguing that this struggle needs to be broadened and externalized beyond the state so that critical questions about the deepening data-driven financialization of climate change can be addressed.

Big Data, Open Data and the Climate Risk Market

“…In the Autumn Statement of 2011, the policy developments came to a head with the announcement by Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, that the UK government was opening "the largest volume of high quality weather data and information made available by a national meteorological organisation anywhere in the world" for anyone to re-use without charge (HM Government 2011). Senior politicians advocating for Open Data, such as MP Francis Maude (2012), spoke publicly about the advantages for the climate risk industry, and according to well-placed policymakers interviewed by the author some hoped these developments would make the UK weather derivative market competitive with the US-based markets (Bates and Goodale 2017). Yet, despite the hopes of these key political actors, opening the UK's meteorological data has faced challenges as the Met Office has struggled to adapt to a fully open data environment (Bates and Goodale 2017).…”

“…Senior politicians advocating for Open Data, such as MP Francis Maude (2012), spoke publicly about the advantages for the climate risk industry, and according to well-placed policymakers interviewed by the author some hoped these developments would make the UK weather derivative market competitive with the US-based markets (Bates and Goodale 2017). Yet, despite the hopes of these key political actors, opening the UK's meteorological data has faced challenges as the Met Office has struggled to adapt to a fully open data environment (Bates and Goodale 2017). Nevertheless, despite these barriers, the climate risk industry is still able to access and process vast amounts of meteorological data in order to trade weather derivate and related climate risk productsalbeit with some charges still in place.…”