AIGCC has undertaken this survey for the second year in a row now, with the intent of gauging how investors are approaching climate-aligned investment, where they are allocating capital and what barriers or challenges they face when investing in climate solutions.
Appetite for climate-aligned and net zero investment continues to be strong across all regions and asset classes in Asia. This is against a backdrop of a lack of appropriate opportunities and measurement tools identified year on year as key barriers to investment. Asian investors are also growing increasingly sophisticated, reflected by the diversity of tools used and the increasingly nuanced approaches for different portfolios.
Asian investors are increasingly considering aspirational net zero emission targets and commitments. Nevertheless, work needs to progress from ambition to target setting, followed by integration through increased fund manager mandates. The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) reporting remains prevalent among Asian investors.
Investors are embracing the need to consider broader impacts that investments have on society and the environment as a whole. An increasing number of investors have started or continued their work on climate change, despite COVID-19. Indeed, a green and sustainable recovery to the pandemic can provide immediate and longer term benefits for the climate crisis.