Join Global Footprint Network, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), MN, and DEGROOF Petercam on 30 May for a comprehensive exploration of climate strategies for sovereign bond investors – including the use of a dashboard of indicators to identify and manage carbon transition and climate risks.
Until now carbon disclosure has focused mostly on listed equities and to a lesser extent corporate bonds. Yet sovereign bonds represent one of the largest asset classes and a significant percentage of diversified investment portfolios, especially among institutional investors.
The lack of clarity on methodological approaches has been a major obstacle for assessing climate risk in sovereign bonds, though research contributions in the area are on the rise. In December 2016, Global Footprint Network and South Pole Group released a report, Carbon Disclosure and Climate Risk in Sovereign Bonds, that outlined a methodology to disclose and manage carbon exposure in sovereign bond holdings. Their recommendations were developed in collaboration with a working group of nine asset owners and managers, including Aegon Asset Management, Alliance Bernstein, BlackRock, BT Pension Scheme, Degroof Petercam, MN, Swisscanto Invest, Nippon Life Global Investors, and Vontobel.
During the webinar, Susan Burns, Director of Footprint Network’s Finance for Change Initiative, will explain the methodology and dashboard of indicators outlined in the report. Ophélie Mortier, a responsible investment strategist at DEGROOF Petercam, and Willemijn Verdegaal, a responsible investment and governance advisor at MN, will share their perspective on how to best apply the results to sovereign bond investing.