Pedro Guazo, Representative of the Secretary-General for the Investment of the UNJSPF assets, provided an overview on challenges to sustainable investing and efforts the Fund is deploying in this area at the annual Sustainable Investment Forum North America. This was the 8^th edition of the Forum, organized in partnership with UNEP Finance (UNEP-FI), gathering leaders and experts in the sustainable finance ecosystem during Climate Week NYC.

In his welcoming address, Eric Usher, Head of UNEP FI, highlighted how change is happening within the private sector and the wider sustainability community. “Leaders have started to set targets and our very own UN Pension Fund has already met their 2025 targets,” Mr. Usher noted. The UN Pension Fund decreased the carbon emissions of its portfolio by 39 per cent in 2022.

Pedro Guazo stressed that, “there are concerns about the viability of some sustainable energy projects due to higher interest generated by inflation and geopolitical issues.” Mr. Guazo was a panelist in the Forum’s opening panel titled “Geopolitical/Macroeconomic outlook for the region-- managing short term energy shocks and energy security.”

The panel discussed the current geopolitical crises and the disruptions they have triggered in the energy industry. As a result, certain companies increased their investments in fossil fuel energy but there has also been an acceleration to build sustainable renewable energy sources.

The panel also addressed the impact of renewable energy development on mining, including lithium and cobalt, acknowledging concerns about its sustainability and practices. The panel discussed the topic of polarization around climate change, noting it has not hampered progress and deployment of resources to tackle climate change.

The panelists provided insights on how financial institutions can mobilize capital toward renewable energy and how to model the impacts of climate change in investment portfolios.

“Since we divested USD 2 billion from fossil fuels and started comparing our benchmark with exclusions vis-à-vis the plain benchmark, our performance is almost 40 basis points above the plain benchmark. It pays off to invest sustainably,” said Pedro Guazo.

The panel concluded with a reflection on what governments and regulators can implement today to advance the fight against global warming: carbon pricing and financing the right companies. For investors, the panel also provided a few actions to realize real world impact: engagement and joining like-minded investors to learn from others, and amplify key messages on sustainable investment.

Left to right: Pedro Guazo, Representative of the Secretary-General for the Investment of the UNJSPF Assets; Jamie Bonham, Head of Stewardship at NEI Investments; Carine Smith Ihenacho, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank; Mindy Lubber, CEO & President at Ceres; Scott Kalb, Former CIO & Deputy CEO, KIC, Director, Responsible Asset Allocator Initiative New America