Asian investors are focusing on climate related opportunities: AIGCC
Mia Pei
ASIAN investors recognise climate risks and opportunities, but barriers to setting climate targets remain, said Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) in a report on Thursday (Nov 30).
The new research, which will be fully released in the first quarter of 2024, focuses on climate practices of 183 Asian-headquartered investors with a combined US$33 trillion of assets under management.
A total of 116 investors, who managed US$27 trillion worth of assets, or 81 per cent of the total managed assets studied, have publicly recognised that climate issues pose both risks and opportunities.
About 63 per cent of the total assets under management have set a climate policy, and 69 per cent have aligned climate disclosures with the leading standard, or task force on climate-related financial disclosures.
About 38 per cent of the assets under management, or US$13 trillion, have set a target to reach net-zero emissions.
Chief executive officer of AIGCC Rebecca Mikula Wright highlighted that the major investors in Asia are now aware that climate will move markets and reshape the region’s economic outlook, “but policy barriers prevent them from actually moving the capital to mitigate climate risks in Asia.”
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With US$8 trillion of assets under management, 36 of the Asian investors have set interim climate targets.
At the managed asset level of US$5 trillion, 20 of the investors are intending to direct a proportion of capital into renewable energy and other climate solutions.
“Under the right local policy conditions, private investors can quickly deploy significant capital that will support governments’ growing responsibilities on climate,” said Wright, noting that the commitments to triple renewable energy capacity, as proposed for COP28, are policy signals attracting Asian investors’ capital.
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“Investors are keen to work alongside policymakers and business to chart our common path to net zero, protecting local economies, communities and environments,” she added.
AIGCC is network of institutional investors, shedding light on Asian investors’ perspectives in the evolving global discussions on climate change and the transition to a net- zero emissions economy.
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