Adoption of a real estate benchmark in Asia is increasing as leading European pension funds place reporting at the heart of their emissions reduction efforts.
Growth trumps green credentials in much of corporate Asia, but the pension fund insists it can use its ownership position to foster greater climate consciousness.
The move follows elevation of ESG from investment risk to a corporate risk and a substantial rotation from active to passive mandates, and is likely to presage additional ESG hires.
Genetic code-tweaking of trees to absorb more carbon, and sustainable cultivation of forests for wood products, are examples of investment bets being made by the Singaporean state-owned investor to address climate change.
Interest to invest in China’s decarbonisation is aplenty — but foreign asset owners are waiting for the country to drop its Covid Zero policies first, before assessing these opportunities.
The massive political and economic upheaval being caused by the Russian aggression may disrupt investor activity in the short term, but industry players say climate change will not fall off the agenda.
Renewable energy remains the most attractive climate-related investment sector as SWFs move swiftly to address their environmental impact, according to the latest report.