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This session looked at green stimulus measures and the ingredients of success that will generate economic growth, create jobs and bring about environmental benefits. It studied the lessons of the GFC and the opportunity for greening the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
View Shardul’s presentation slides here[vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Shardul%20Agrawala%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22Head%20of%20environment%20and%20economic%20integration%20division%2C%20OECD%20(France)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22Shardul%20Agrawala%20is%20head%20of%20the%20environment%20and%20economy%20integration%20division%20at%20the%20OECD%20Environment%20Directorate.%20He%20took%20up%20duties%20in%20July%202013.%20In%20this%20capacity%2C%20Agrawala%20leads%20the%20directorate%E2%80%99s%20work%20on%20economic-environmental%20modelling%2C%20empirical%20analysis%20of%20environmental%20policies%2C%20trade%20and%20environment%2C%20and%20on%20resource%20productivity%20and%20waste.%20At%20the%20OECD%20since%202002%2C%20he%20has%20previously%20served%20as%20senior%20advisor%20to%20the%20OECD%20secretary%20general%2C%20co-ordinator%20of%20the%20OECD-wide%20initiative%20on%20New%20Approaches%20to%20Economic%20Challenges%2C%20acting%20head%20of%20the%20Climate%20Change%20Biodiversity%20and%20Development%20Division%2C%20and%20senior%20economist%2C%20Climate%20Change.%20Agrawala%20has%20published%20extensively%20on%20climate%20change.%20He%20has%20led%20teams%20of%20international%20experts%20for%20chapters%20of%20the%20fourth%20and%20fifth%20Assessment%20Reports%20of%20the%20Intergovernmental%20Panel%20on%20Climate%20Change%20(IPCC).%20He%20received%20his%20PhD%20from%20Princeton%20University%20and%20has%20previously%20held%20research%20positions%20at%20Princeton%20University%2C%20Harvard%20University%2C%20Columbia%20University%20and%20at%20the%20International%20Institute%20of%20Applied%20Systems%20Analysis%20(IIASA).%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2233544%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fshardul-agrawala-6749748%2F%22%7D%5D” title=”Speaker” el_class=””][vc_quotes layout=”accordion” quotes=”%5B%7B%22name%22%3A%22Colin%20Tate%22%2C%22job_role%22%3A%22Chief%20executive%2C%20Conexus%20Financial%20(Australia)%22%2C%22content%22%3A%22Tate%20has%20been%20an%20investment%20industry%20media%20publisher%20and%20conference%20producer%20since%201996.%20In%20his%20media%20career%2C%20Tate%20has%20launched%20and%20overseen%20dozens%20of%20print%20and%5Cnelectronic%20publications.%20He%20is%20the%20chief%20executive%20and%20major%20shareholder%20of%20Conexus%20Financial%2C%20which%20was%20formed%20in%202005%2C%20and%20is%20headquartered%20in%20Sydney%2C%20Australia.%5CnThe%20company%20stages%20more%20than%2020%20conferences%20and%20events%20each%20year%20%E2%80%93%5Cnin%20cities%20which%20have%20included%20London%2C%20New%20York%2C%20San%20Francisco%2C%20Los%20Angeles%2C%20Amsterdam%2C%20Beijing%2C%20Sydney%20and%20Melbourne%20%E2%80%93%20and%20publishes%20three%20media%20brands%2C%5Cnincluding%20the%20global%20website%20and%20strategy%20newsletter%20for%20global%5Cninstitutional%20investors%20conexust1f.flywheelstaging.com.%20One%20of%20the%20company%E2%80%99s%20signature%20events%20is%20the%20bi-annual%20Fiduciary%20Investors%20Symposium.%20Conexus%20Financial%E2%80%99s%5Cnevents%20aim%20to%20place%20the%20responsibilities%20of%20investors%20in%20wider%20societal%2C%20and%20political%20contexts%2C%20as%20well%20as%20promote%20the%20long-term%20stability%20of%20markets%20and%20sustainable%5Cnretirement%20incomes.%20Tate%20served%20for%20seven%20years%20on%20the%20board%20of%20Australia%E2%80%99s%20most%20high%20profile%20homeless%20charity%2C%20The%20Wayside%20Chapel%3B%20and%20he%20has%20underwritten%20the%5Cnwelfare%20of%2060%2C000%20people%20in%2028%20villages%20throughout%20Uganda%20via%20The%20Hunger%20Project.%22%2C%22image%22%3A%2233547%22%2C%22linkedin%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Famanda-white-101a7515%2F%3ForiginalSubdomain%3Dau%22%7D%5D” title=”Moderator” el_class=””][vc_empty_space height=”10px”]
As of early June, almost USD$10 trillion had been committed by governments worldwide to combat COVID-19 in the form of loans, stimulus and bailouts. This figure included up to 1 trillion in green related packages.
Our preliminary assessment is that the stimulus response so far has been more brown than green and that should be a big concern to all of us.
Large, timely and well-designed green stimulus can generate economic growth.
To build back greener, we should resist the urge to cut and paste the response measures put in place during the Global Financial Crisis.
More work is needed to ensure the ESG ratings are fit for purpose. We need to make sure the E component continues to get adequate attention and adequate weight.
A more precise common understanding of the criteria for ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ would help facilitate a green recovery.
One of the most important, upcoming challenges at CalSTRS is how the fund should evaluate Chinese investments from a human capital and environmental standpoint, says Chris Ailman, chief investment officer at the giant pension fund.
Last Thursday, March 12 the US Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis heard from industry experts, including Bob Litterman and Frederic Samama, on the economic risks of climate change. They all pushed for a price on carbon and for action, now.
Being passively invested shouldn’t mean being passive with regard to responsibilities says the Church of England Pension Board which has developed a new climate transition index with FTSE Russell, LSE and TPI that is the first to incorporate forward-looking climate data.
Designing a 1.5°C asset portfolio to mobilise capital for a sustainable future requires some big thinking and intensive collaboration, not to mention transformational change that extends way beyond the borders of the investment industry. So what role do investors play?
The largest pension fund in Europe, the €450 billion Dutch ABP, set out its sustainability and responsible investment plan for 2025 last month. The plan sets out long-term objectives – in line with the goal of a climate-neutral economy by 2050 – as well as the short-term steps to achieve that.
The UK’s £30 billion Brunel Pension Partnership is taking investing in a carbon zero future to a whole new level. It has just published a far-reaching Climate Change Policy filled with actions and deadlines linked to the goals of the Paris Agreement.
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