The Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) has undertaken this study annually since 2017 to gather investor insights on how the market is defining and investing in green or climate aligned opportunities, and what barriers to increased investment they continue to face.

The report provides the collective views of Australian and New Zealand investors with funds representing over AU$1.3 trillion in assets under management surveyed over June-July 2019. These investors include superannuation funds, asset managers and sovereign wealth funds.

The headline insights presented in this report provide a snapshot of current investor sentiment, highlighting some of the factors driving investor thinking and behaviour as they seek to respond to climate change risks and pursue emerging low carbon investment opportunities.

It finds that investor appetite for climate aligned investment continues to grow and activity accelerate. Even as the political landscape in Australia remains challenging, and doing deals is not easy.

The global trend towards more sustainable finance is also playing out in local markets, and the push to integrate climate change into the investment mainstream continues.

Key findings from the survey include:

• 90% of the investors surveyed are implementing low carbon strategies.
• 50-80% of investors surveyed are undertaking or are actively considering low carbon investment across most asset classes
• More than 70% of investors have or are considering climate-aligned targets for their portfolios. Many are also doing the same across a range of asset classes.
• When faced with policy uncertainty, more than 40% of investors redirect investments to jurisdictions, sectors or markets with less uncertainty, and nearly 60% increase company engagement to manage climate-risks across their portfolios.
• Over 80% of investors are actively considering reporting under the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.