"Climate risk is financial risk; investors who aren't addressing that risk are at risk themselves," says Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change. Among Asia's biggest institutional investors, a growing number now track or target investments in climate solutions, conduct physical-risk assessments and engage investee companies to reduce portfolio risks, recognizing climate change as a major risk to long-term returns. Mikula-Wright discusses these issues with Conrad Tan, Bloomberg Intelligence ESG integration analyst for APAC, in this edition of ESG Currents. They also examine newer areas of focus including how investors are working to integrate nature and social risk into their capital allocation and engagement strategies.

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"Many UAE banks have seen sustainable finance as a profit center", says Vijay Bains, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of ESG at Emirates NBD. In this episode of ESG Currents, Grace Osborne, BI’s ESG integration analyst for EMEA, speaks with Bains about the rising momentum of sustainable finance in the GCC and its intertwinement with the region's economic diversification plans. With UAE's national banks' pledging to mobilize AED 1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, alongside strengthened Nationally Determined Contributions, opportunities for capturing sustainable value creation are mounting. From water scarcity solutions to green building initiatives, the GCC is scaling its sustainability ambitions at a time where other regions in the world appear to be stepping back.
This episode was recorded on May 1, 2025.

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As climate change accelerates water scarcity, investors are eyeing scalable solutions with environmental integrity. In this episode of ESG Currents, BI’s director of ESG research Eric Kane and senior ESG associate Melanie Rua speak with OceanWell CEO Robert Bergstrom about a subsea desalination product that uses deep-ocean pressure to cut energy use by up to 40% while protecting marine ecosystems. Bergstrom outlines OceanWell’s phased road map, including pilots and global scaling, and makes the investment case for water infrastructure, citing research showing a $7 return for every $1 invested. The episode explores why valuing water appropriately is key to driving innovation, policy and climate resilience. Recorded April 23.

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