Recalibrating investor action on climate change

Have investors overstated their ability to drive climate action? Have top-down, targets-driven models of decarbonisation taken the industry down a blind alley? And if so, where should sustainability-minded asset owners and managers refocus their efforts? A new report from the LSE argues for a reappraisal of the topic, based on an acceptance that investor action on climate will be dependent on government policy and technology development. In this episode, editor Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker speaks with Tom Gosling, the report's co-author and professor in practice and director of the Initiative in Sustainable Finance at the London School of Economics, about what this recalibration means in practice – and whether the responsible investment community is ready for it. Key topics include the future of corporate net-zero targets, the challenges of supporting the energy transition in emerging markets, and the practicability – or otherwise – of policy engagement on climate by institutional investors.