--- description: Find out why Henry Fernandez is on TIME's 2025 list of the 100 most influential leaders driving business climate action. title: Henry Fernandez: The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt89a0a1c220e15fb8/6998cafd1f67091f58f56dc9/Innovators-Henry-Fernandez.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 30, 2025 # Henry Fernandez Chairman and CEO, MSCI by Henry Fernandez  Photo-Illustration by TIME (Courtesy Photo) _Henry Fernandez is chairman and CEO of_ [_MSCI_](https://www.msci.com/ "undefined")_, one of the world’s most influential providers of corporate climate data. MSCI tools, like the_ [_Net-Zero Tracker_](https://www.msci-institute.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-November-MSCI-Net-Zero-Tracker-111124.pdf "undefined") _and_ [_Climate Action Indexes_](https://www.msci.com/indexes/group/climate-action-indexes "undefined")_—are used by more than 1,400 institutions managing over $20 trillion in assets to gauge companies’ climate risk and ESG performance. Under Fernandez’s leadership, in June MSCI launched its_ [_Energy Transition Framework_](https://www.msci.com/data-and-analytics/climate-solutions/energy-transition-framework "undefined") _tool, which gives investors clarity about how some 1,300 global companies are preparing (or not) for the energy transition, with plans to cover 11,000 companies by the end of the year._ **What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government, needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?** Global leaders must reiterate the importance of climate action to human welfare. Climate change is not a standalone issue disconnected from economic prosperity. If anything, rising global temperatures could have even larger physical and financial effects than we once thought. Therefore, meeting our climate goals is central to public health, poverty reduction, and wealth creation—and global leaders should say so. **What gives you hope about the future of the planet?** The good news is that companies, investors, and people around the world are not waiting for governments to act. They are working together to reduce climate-related risks and support climate-related innovation. That is why we are starting to see global economic growth significantly outpace global emissions growth, which is an essential step toward meaningful decarbonization. **If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next COP, what would you say?** I would remind them of three things: First, we should all view climate policy as economic policy, given the already devastating costs of extreme weather. Second, climate progress in the Global North will not make much difference unless we can drive similar progress in the Global South. Third, meeting the world’s long-term emissions targets will require a massive reallocation of capital and repricing of assets, which means that the finance and investment industries have a critical role to play. 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