These large investors increasingly view climate change as one of the most important ESG issues they face and 75% said it is now central or a key factor in their investment policy. The stock has more than doubled compared to two years ago.
There is also growing investor appetite from oil and gas companies that use fossil fuels, which are doubling from 11% to 22% over the next two years.
While there has been an overall increase in the adoption of thematic investments in sustainability-related topics such as renewable energy or green technology, North America again lags behind Europe and Asia-Pacific, with 70% of respondents currently implementing thematic investments.
Active ownership – including engagement and voting – is also increasing, from 54% being central or important in investment policies two years ago to 73% now. In this regard, North America has seen strong growth (up 60% to 68%) over the past two years but lags behind global peers (90% in Europe and 82% in Asia-Pacific).
Biodiversity demands and challenges
There has also been a major shift in institutional and wholesale investors’ awareness of biodiversity, more than doubling its impact on investment policy from 19% to 41% in the past two years.
