Spotlight on Dr Michael Greenstone, Co-Founder, Climate Vault
Global Thought Leader Spotlight
Dr Michael Greenstone, Co-Founder, Climate Vault
The demand for financial products that earn high environmental, social and governance scores is exploding. Some 85% of all investors – including the wealthiest – are interested in sustainable investment; that figure rises to 95% among millennials. [1]
A key criterion for an ESG portfolio is its impact on the climate, but therein lies a huge challenge. The interplay between an investment strategy and the amount of CO2 emitted into the world’s atmosphere is notoriously difficult to pin down.
For example, polluting firms that might be excluded from an ESG investment portfolio can simply raise capital elsewhere. The portfolio may therefore be “clean” but the impact on climate change is a wash. And even “clean” firms that meet ESG standards often emit some level of CO2 – directly or indirectly -- which can lead to greenwashing claims and concerns.
So how can investors help with clean energy transition?
At Climate Vault, we have created a solution. We Purchase and “vault” CO2 allowances from government-regulated compliance markets to neutralise the negative climate impacts of any fund, regardless of its holdings. And we ensure that the entire carbon footprint of the portfolio is captured by measuring it with a proprietary machine-learning algorithm.
This approach allows investors to maximise gain while making any fixed income or equity investment truly carbon neutral.
From the clients’ perspective – and more importantly, from the planet’s perspective – it’s an ESG win-win.
Michael will be presenting Climate Vault’s practical solution to making net zero a reality in fixed income portfolios at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Fixed Income & Defensive Assets Investment Forum, taking place on Thursday, 8 September 2022 at the Westin, Melbourne CBD, Victoria.
To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan.kapetanovic@globalii.com.au.
[1] Morgan Stanley 2019: Morgan Stanley Survey Finds Investor Enthusiasm for Sustainable Investing at an All-Time High
Dr Michael Greenstone, Co-Founder, Climate Vault
Michael is the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, as well as the Director of the Becker Friedman Institute and the interdisciplinary Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
Michael previously served as the Chief Economist for President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, where he co-led the development of the United States Government’s social cost of carbon. He also directed The Hamilton Project, which studies policies to promote economic growth, and currently serves on its Advisory Council.
Michael is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a fellow of the Econometric Society, and a former editor of the Journal of Political Economy. He graduated with High Honors in economics from Swarthmore College and received his Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.
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