Investor Climate Action: What Finance Can and Can't Achieve

Hear from Prof. Tom Gosling, Director of the Initiative in Sustainable Finance at the London School of Economics (LSE), as we examine the limits of investor-led climate action, the realities of stewardship and engagement, and why finance may need a more pragmatic approach to the transition. 

Over recent years, investors have been asked to play a central role in driving the net zero transition. Through targets, stewardship, portfolio commitments and engagement, the idea was that finance could help push the real economy towards decarbonization. 

But what if that framing overstates what investors can realistically achieve? If real-world incentives are still misaligned, and if policy remains the primary driver of economic change, then investor climate action may need to become more focused, more realistic, and more honest about its limits. 

That's why this episode will explore: 

• Why the current model of investor climate action has run into difficulty, particularly around targets and portfolio emissions;  

• What more effective stewardship might look like when it focuses on achievable, real-world impact rather than headline commitments;  

• And why asset owners, asset managers and risk professionals may need to rethink their roles as climate risk becomes more politically contested and physically material. 

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To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr 

For more information on climate risk, visit GARP's Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Centre: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate 

If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: climateriskpodcast@garp.com