Climate Change Moves to Top of Investors’ List of ESG Issues

Friday, September 20, 2019

By Hazel Bradford

As institutional investors spend an increasing amount of time thinking about environmental, social and governance risks and strategies for dealing with them, the issue of climate change continues to push its way to the top of the list.

According to the U.S. SIF Foundation’s biennial Report on U.S. Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends, released late last year, “climate change/carbon” was the top ESG criterion for money managers representing $3 trillion in assets and the third-biggest issue for institutional investors with a collective $2.24 trillion in assets.

Climate change made a dramatic jump to first from third place in the latest Extreme Risks report from Willis Towers Watson Investments’ Thinking Ahead Institute. “We now think it’s more likely, and the climate science is also worse,” said Tim Hodgson, London-based head of the Thinking Ahead Institute.

Photo courtesy of Min An.

Source: Pensions&Investments (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Environment, Investing
Tags
climate change, ESG, impact investing