Investors in Asia are accelerating action on climate, with 34% having committed capital towards related solutions, clean energy and transition finance, according to research from the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC). The group’s sixth annual ‘State of Investor Climate Transition in Asia’ report gleaned data from 230 of the region’s largest and most significant asset owners and managers, collectively representing more than US$100 trillion in AUM. AIGCC said there is a “clear trend” of investors allocating capital and growing their exposures to green and transitioning assets set to benefit from the global net zero transition. The report noted that the adoption of climate transition plans is becoming mainstream, with 35% of investors having now published such plans – a 7% increase from the previous year. AIGCC acknowledged this rise could be attributed to current and future regulations requiring investors and companies to disclose their climate risks and their plans for addressing these risks. Deforestation policies and strategies also increased by 9% year-on-year, albeit from a low base, with 21% of investors having taken deforestation-related action, such as by adopting a general stance on deforestation or a more detailed strategy. Asset owners were found to be “generally slower” in developing deforestation-related strategies compared to asset managers. “With our most comprehensive analysis to date of Asia’s most influential investors, the direction of travel is crystal clear: US$100 trillion of investor capital in Asia is ratcheting up their climate action plans and are looking for opportunities to invest,” said Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of the AIGCC. “However, with markets in Asia highly exposed to physical climate risks and nature-related risks, we need to see more investor ambition in accounting for these risks in their portfolios as well as allocating capital to address them.”
