Recently I had the opportunity to participate in the UN PRI’s annual conference ‘PRI in Person’ with Carey Buxton, Head of Sustainable Investing at Brown Advisory. 1,700 signatories of the UN PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment) attended the conference which covered a number of sustainable investment themes and I had the opportunity to speak on a panel called “The New Geopolitics of Responsible Investment”. I was privileged to speak alongside Tim Gould, the Chief Energy Economist at IEA and Simon Mundy, the Moral Money Editor for the FT and author of Race for Tomorrow, among others. We are very pleased to share the video of this session below for those who would like to see the discussion in full.
The discussion was kicked off by Mariead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Stability, who opened with key points about the need to mobilize private investment alongside public to meet the massive scale demands of renewable energy sources. She argued that the current energy crisis, although a headwind today, has actually accelerated action like the EU Green Deal. Throughout the discussion I was able to highlight a few key points including:
- The framework for our approach at Brown Advisory to analysing sovereigns and the nature of a top-down intersection with our bottom-up process we use for corporates and other asset types
- The benefits of gaining a strong understanding of the geopolitical considerations in our investment decisions
- The challenges around the limited ESG data available for emerging markets and the need for flexible frameworks to be supported by regulators and investors.
The discussion was broad with Tim calling out the recent noise around the idea that the 1.5 degree warming scenario is impossible to achieve. Simon reflected on his experience at COP27. It was clear to all that the commitment to solving the climate crisis should not take a backseat as a result of today’s energy crisis but there was an agreement that traditional energy sources need to change. Getting the right balance between focusing on the current energy crisis without losing focus on the global climate crisis is truly a testament to what we mean when we say we need a just transition.
I hope you enjoy watching the recording of the discussion in more detail.
Lisa
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