Tech imperative: Looking beyond ESG to reinvent the future is a report from The Economist Intelligence Unit, commissioned by E Fund.

In the world of finance, green bonds were introduced to encourage sustainable projects. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors have spurred investors to review where their dollars go to ensure they do more good than harm. And impact investing has ratcheted that objective up to fund projects, programmes and organisations that have missions tightly aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. But what about a more old-fashioned approach of favouring the better mouse trap? Not necessarily the box-ticking exercise of ESG or the policy acrobatics of green bonds, but simply investing in technologies that show promise to decarbonise the environment.

This report, surveying more than 300 large investment funds—including asset managers and asset owners—investigates how these organisations view investment into technologies that mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as areas they are investing in, and whether the return objectives are framed differently to other investments.

In addition, this study takes wide-ranging desk research and indepth interviews with experts in the fields of investing, climate and technology into account. Dewi John is the report author and Jason Wincuinas is the editor. Our thanks are due to the following interviewees for their time and insights:

Mark Campanale, founder and executive chairman, Carbon Tracker Initiative Stephen Freedman, head of research and sustainability, thematic equities, Pictet Asset Management Andrew Gray, director of ESG and stewardship, AustralianSuper Pedro Antonio Guazo Alonso, representative of the secretary-general for investments, UN Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) Carine Smith Ihenacho, chief corporate governance officer, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) Adrian Locher, founder and CEO, Merantix Julian Poulter, partner, Energy Transition Advisors Anne Simpson, director, board governance and strategy, CalPERS

In the final episode of 2020, host Jason Wincuinas speaks to Tom Standage, deputy editor at The Economist, and editor of The World In 2021, a collection of forward-gazing coverage from The Economist, to find out what the world in 2021 will look like in Asia.

Relevant content from The Economist:

The World In 2021 Ten trends to watch in the coming year by Tom Standage The World Ahead The World Ahead from The Economist Radio

Topics covered:

Will 2021 be the year of the vaccine? What will recovery look like? The "new world disorder" - will it get better? Revival of the WTO Will China pick up the global baton after the US? Will companies step up on social issues? The rise of tech companies in Asia Where will the first flying car be?

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Relevant content from The Economist Intelligence Unit:

China icebergs (case study on autonomous vehicles in China) Intertwined relations: China, the US, and the global trade of AI

In this episode, senior editor Jason Wincuinas speaks to Jeffrey Ding, a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford and the China lead at “The Centre for the Governance of AI”, which is part of the Future of Humanity Institute, and founder of "ChinAI" (chinai.substack.com), a newsletter that shares translations of Chinese AI research papers.

 

 

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