Lack of Climate Policy Could Cost Investors Trillions – Report

Continued delay in climate change policy action and lack of international coordination could cost institutional investors trillions of dollars over the coming decades, according to research released by Mercer and a group of leading global investors representing around $2 trillion in assets under management.

The report, "Climate Change Scenarios–Implications for Strategic Asset
Allocation" analyzes the potential financial impacts of climate change on
investors’ portfolios, identified through a series of four climate
change scenarios playing out to 2030. The report identifies a series of
pragmatic steps for institutional investors to consider in their
strategic asset allocation.

“Climate change brings fundamental implications for investment patterns, risks and rewards. Institutional investors should be factoring long-term considerations, such as climate change, into their strategic planning," Andrew Kirton, Chief Investment Officer at Mercer, said.

The report outlines a framework that can be used by institutional investors to enhance their understanding of climate-related investment risks and opportunities across asset classes and regions. Mercer’s “TIP Framework” estimates the rate of investment into low carbon technologies (T), the impacts (I) on the physical environment and the implied cost of carbon resulting from global policy (P) developments across the four climate scenarios.

Some of the key findings show that by 2030:

• Climate change increases uncertainty for long term institutional investors and as such, needs to be pro-actively managed.
• Investment opportunities in low carbon technologies could reach $5 trillion.
• The cost of impacts on the physical environment, health and food security could exceed $4 trillion.
• Climate change related policy changes could increase the cost of carbon emissions by as much as $8 trillion.
• Increasing allocation to “climate sensitive” assets will help to mitigate risks and capture new opportunities.
• Engagement with policy makers is crucial for institutional investors to pro-actively manage the potential costs of delayed and poorly co-ordinated climate policy action.
• Policy developments at the country level will produce new investment opportunities as well as risks that need to be constantly monitored.
• The EU and China/East Asia are set to lead investment in low carbon technology and efficiency improvements over the coming decades.

The launch of the report and the Mercer TIP Framework represents a collaborative endeavour led by Mercer which involved 14 global institutional investors, and was supported by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, and Carbon Trust.

"This report is unique and ground-breaking in quantifying the increased portfolio risk arising from global efforts to tackle climate change," said Bruce Duguid, Head of Investor Engagement for The Carbon Trust. "It demonstrates that unless this risk is tackled intelligently by increasing exposure to climate sensitive assets, then long term rewards could fall. The findings undermine the notion of a conflict between ‘green’ investing ‘ and acting in beneficiaries long term financial interests."

The report is available for free at the link below.