The weighty and highly charged topic of energy transition – and the role that climate finance plays in it – was the focus of a panel I moderated at the INSEAD Alumni Forum Europe, which was recently held in London. My first question for the speakers was therefore whether we are past the days of peak ESG investing.All the panellists agreed that climate finance – investment in technologies that address climate change and therefore broader than ESG investing – still has much room for growth. Energy and infrastructure investments have pay-off periods measured in decades, but liquid fund managers need to and should generate returns for their investors quarterly and annually.To van Steenis, the “ESG” label is not a helpful guide for those wanting to invest in climate finance. Is energy transition and climate finance just a worry for more developed countries? Or could emerging economies tap into technological advances to chart a greener future for themselves?“A lot of the developing world has a tremendous opportunity to leapfrog the more developed world in terms of creative approaches to energy and energy use,” stressed Bennington.

Source: Forbes May 22, 2023 05:42 UTC