IFT Working Group
Sydney | 16 March 2023
Session one:
Investing for tomorrow – progress to-date
In this interactive and informative session, Tim Hodgson and Jeff Chee, guided a conversation through the work already done within the investing for tomorrow (IFT) workstream. Using the 6-step action plan for net zero developed by the IFT working group as a framework, the conversation covered climate beliefs, the appropriate level of climate ambition, resourcing, 3D mandates and climate reporting dashboards. Detours on subjects such as integrated assessment models, climate tipping points, new primary investment, or the social cost of carbon, were available on request. In short, this was an excellent opportunity for you to quiz us on a large body of work produced over the last three years that we know is relevant to your organisation currently.
Session two:
Investing for tomorrow – macro view | first meeting of the new working group
In 2022 TAI published our Pay now or pay later? paper. The paper worked with two scenarios; in one, the global temperature rise was limited to 1.8C, and in the other, a global temperature rise of around 3C was expected (by 2100). In the IFT macro view working group, we proposed pushing the research a little further and exploring the following questions:
- Is a low-temperature outcome possible under the current “rules of the game”? If not, what rules would need to change? How likely would this be? And, what would investing look like under those new rules?
- If our current path is taking us towards 3C of warming, are our current portfolios fit for purpose or might they need to change?
- How do we assess the relative likelihood of these different scenarios? And, is our current approach to dealing with bar belled outcomes adequate?
- Will our current mechanisms for risk transfer still be effective in future, or could they be overwhelmed? For example, might the insurance industry shrink as it withdraws from providing cover for extreme weather events, and what impact would this have on other portfolio companies?
We are biased, but we think this was interesting and important work. We were glad to have you join us for these sessions, and post-event drinks!