In this episode, Nathan Fabian, Chief Sustainable Systems Officer at the PRI, examines rising economic inequality and why it poses a material, systemic risk for long-term investors. He is joined by Delaney Greig (Director of Investor Stewardship, University Pension Plan Ontario), Emma Douglas (Sustainable Investment & Stewardship Lead, Brightwell; BT Pension Scheme), and David Wood (Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School).

Together, they explore how inequality affects economic stability, corporate performance, long-horizon portfolio returns, and what asset owners can do to respond.

Ten years after the adoption of the SDGs, inequality is increasing across major economies. The top 1% now holds over 40% of global wealth, and widening gaps in income, labour rights and access to opportunity are shaping economic and political outcomes.

The guests discuss:

• Why inequality is a non-diversifiable, systemic risk
• How it undermines growth, resilience and productivity
• The implications for diversified investors
• The interplay between inequality, climate, nature and social outcomes
• How asset owners can use stewardship, integration and policy engagement to address key drivers

Delaney and Emma outline why rising inequality threatens long-term returns: weakening demand, increasing volatility, reducing workforce resilience, and fuelling political instability. Both highlight evidence linking excessive pay gaps and poor labour practices to weaker corporate performance.

David summarises major findings from the IMF, OECD and others showing that inequality constrains growth rather than accelerates it. He notes that investors have clearer data and frameworks today than ever before, and that social issues have become central to responsible investment.

Emma discusses a new analysis tool developed with Cambri to map social risks across sectors, revealing under-examined areas such as technology, media and natural-resource-intensive industries.

Delaney explains UPP’s “top-and-bottom guardrails” approach, engaging on excessive executive pay at the top and fundamental labour rights at the bottom.

The panel discusses:

• Embedding social risks into investment processes
• Sector-level prioritisation
• Collective action on labour rights
• The emerging TISFD standard
• How investors should (and should not) engage in political debates around taxation, labour markets and redistribution

Guests reflect on:

• Strengthening investor–manager dialogue
• Integrating inequality into capital allocation decisions
• Opportunities in areas such as affordable housing
• Addressing market concentration and competition issues
• The need for aligned, collective advocacy from asset owners
• 
  

(0:00) - Introduction: Economic Inequality and Investment Risk

(2:29) - Delaney Greg: Why Inequality Matters for Pension Plans

(4:50) - Emma Douglas: Systemic Risk and Investment Opportunities

(7:16) - David Wood: Research on Inequality and Growth

(9:21) - Understanding the Drivers of Economic Inequality

(11:51) - Emma's Approach: Using Data and AI for Social Risk Analysis

(15:01) - Delaney's Strategy: Top-End and Bottom-End Guardrails

(17:55) - Measuring Impact and Defining Success in Inequality Work

(20:16) -...

In this episode, Tamsin Ballard, Chief Investor Initiatives Officer at the PRI, reflects on a pivotal COP30 in Belém and what it means for investors navigating the next phase of the net zero transition. She is joined by Jan Kæraa Rasmussen, Head of ESG and Sustainability at PensionDanmark and member of the UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Steering Group, and Daniel Gallagher, Senior Lead on Climate at the PRI. Both guests were closely involved in investor engagement around COP30, offering on-the-ground insights from São Paulo and Belém.

Together, they unpack the shift from pledges to implementation, the growing involvement of finance ministries, and the rapidly evolving expectations for investors across mitigation, resilience and nature. They explore what COP30 delivered, and what still needs to happen to unlock the capital required for a global, just and investable transition.

Overview

COP30 marked a step change in how investors were integrated into climate discussions, with strong participation from finance ministries, MDBs, asset owners and global policymakers.

From São Paulo to Belém, conversations were more grounded in real-economy transition needs, with a stronger focus on:

• scaling finance to emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs)
• strengthening NDC quality and investability
• reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs)
• mobilising catalytic capital for climate and nature
• recognising the centrality of the climate-nature nexus

Jan and Daniel reflect on why investors must remain at the table, how policy signals are evolving, and what COP30 revealed about both the opportunities and risks in a multi-speed global transition.

Detailed Coverage

COP30 reinforced that international negotiations alone cannot deliver the speed or scale required. Brazil’s presidency emphasised an action agenda bridging policy and the real economy, pushing for greater alignment between investor needs and national transition pathways.

Daniel highlights PRI's latest analysis presented in Sao Paolo on investment flows to the clean energy transition, yet stresses ongoing misalignment between where capital is flowing and where it is most needed, particularly in EMDEs.

📄 Related PRI report:

Investment flows to the net zero transition: Progress and policy needs (Oct 2025)

Jan details the growing engagement of finance ministries and MDBs in climate finance discussions. He notes progress on DFI/MDB reform, including more effective concessional capital, better use of equity, and improved currency-hedging mechanisms.

He also calls for clearer investor dialogue on perceived versus real risk in EMDEs, and the need for more peer learning on successful renewable-energy investment models.

📄 Related PRI report:

Who invests and how? Unlocking institutional capital for EMDE transitions (Nov 2025)

Daniel highlights improvements in the quality and granularity of NDCs, offering better signals for investors on sector pathways, enabling policies and investment opportunities. Yet, the gap between national ambition and global goals remains wide.

📄 Additional...

In this episode, Nathan Fabian, Chief Sustainable Systems Officer at the PRI, examines what happens to the world’s ageing, high-emitting infrastructure—and why the way we decommission these assets is central to a just and orderly transition. He is joined by Julien Halfon, Head of Corporate and Pensions Solutions at BNP Paribas Asset Management, whose team estimates there are at least US$7.5 trillion in unfunded decommissioning costs embedded in today’s energy and industrial systems. Together, they explore how responsible investors can move from walking away from “brown” assets to actively stewarding them through end of life, clean-up and repurposing.

Overview

The conversation begins with Julien outlining the research behind the US $7.5–8 trillion decommissioning liability estimate, drawing on global studies from regulators, multilateral institutions and sectoral assessments. He explains how decommissioning liabilities emerged from the nuclear sector and is now a critical but underfunded obligation across oil and gas, mining, coal power and even renewables. Only a small fraction—mainly in nuclear—has been pre-funded, leaving governments, taxpayers and future generations exposed.

Nathan and Julien then unpack why responsible investors cannot simply divest from polluting assets and “leave the mess behind”. In a diversified portfolio, the costs of unmanaged decommissioning, stranded infrastructure and damaged communities reverberate across the wider economy. The discussion reframes decommissioning as part of long-term stewardship: engaging through the full lifecycle of assets, recognising decommissioning as a real liability, and using innovative instruments such as transition and decommissioning bonds to convert environmental debts into investable, long-term solutions.

Detailed Coverage

The decommissioning gap

Julien explains BNP Paribas Asset Management’s estimate of roughly US$8 trillion in decommissioning liabilities, of which around US$7.5 trillion remains unfunded once existing nuclear reserves are stripped out. Current corporate provisions fall far short of this figure, leaving a significant hidden risk.

Why end-of-life stewardship matters

Using examples such as abandoned copper mines, he illustrates how poorly managed closures can leave toxic legacies, stranded communities and fiscal burdens for governments—costs that ultimately flow back to diversified investors through sovereign and systemic risk.

From cost centre to opportunity

The episode highlights how active stewardship can unlock value from “end-of-life” assets, from re-mining tailings for valuable metals to repurposing industrial hubs, offshore platforms or nuclear sites into data centres, wind farms and other green infrastructure.

Financing the transition: decommissioning and transition bonds

Julien sets out how decommissioning and transition bonds can pre-fund clean-up and rehabilitation by transforming environmental liabilities into transparent financial ones, while freeing equity capital for redevelopment. Investor appetite has been strong, given the measurable nature of decommissioning activities and the clear brown-to-green trajectory.

Policy, pensions and local communities

Drawing on defined benefit pension frameworks, the discussion explores how tax-advantaged, ring-fenced decommissioning funds and supportive local development policies can help manage liabilities, protect communities and scale new markets for repurposed assets.

Find out more about the PRI’s work on climate and environmental...

In this episode, Nathan Fabian, Chief Sustainable Systems Officer at the PRI, explores the deep interconnection between climate and nature and what it means for investors. Joining him are Laura Bosch, Senior Engagement Specialist at Robeco and member of the Advisory Committee for the PRI’s Spring Initiative, and Graham Stock, Managing Director at RBC BlueBay Asset Management and co-chair of the Investor Policy Dialogue on Deforestation (IPDD). Together, they unpack the financial and systemic risks of biodiversity loss, the emerging opportunities in sustainable investment, and the growing need for investors to act on the climate–nature nexus during COP30 and beyond.

Overview

The conversation begins by defining the climate-nature nexus as more than a conceptual link it’s an integrated system of feedback loops that shape economies, markets, and societies. Graham explains how deforestation and ecosystem degradation feed directly into sovereign credit risk, citing Brazil’s forests as a clear example of natural capital underpinning national economic stability. Laura expands on how biodiversity loss and climate change are mutually reinforcing crises that require investors to tackle transition and physical risks together.

Both guests highlight a shift in the industry: from separate approaches to climate and nature, to joint strategies that embed nature-based metrics within climate targets and net-zero roadmaps.

Detailed Coverage

• Risks and Opportunities: Investors must assess both the risks of ecosystem degradation and the opportunities from nature-positive transitions. Integrating climate and nature goals is becoming standard in frameworks such as the Net Zero Investment Framework and GFANZ guidance.
• Portfolio Application: Graham outlines how sovereign bond investors now evaluate nature-related risks such as water stress and deforestation alongside traditional macroeconomic indicators, using these insights to shape portfolio exposure and engagement priorities.
• Corporate Action: Laura details Robeco’s approach to assessing corporate transition readiness for both climate and biodiversity, combining financial materiality with forward-looking analytics. Their “traffic light” model identifies leaders and laggards, informing investment decisions and stewardship priorities.
• Balancing Trade-offs: The discussion explores how investors can navigate trade-offs between climate and nature goals - for instance, balancing the climate benefits of electric vehicle production with the biodiversity impacts of mining.
• Reversing Negative Impacts: Case studies highlight solutions such as regenerative agriculture, silvopasture, and precision farming to restore land and reduce emissions while sustaining productivity.
• Collaborative Engagement: Graham and Laura describe the impact of large-scale initiatives such as the IPDD, Nature Action 100, and the PRI’s Spring Initiative—each mobilizing investors to engage with governments and corporations on deforestation and biodiversity loss.
• COP30 and Beyond: Both guests underscore the importance of the upcoming COP30 in Brazil, where the Tropical Forest Financing Facility (TFFF) could redefine climate finance by channeling $125 billion to forest protection.

Find out more about the PRI at COP30 by visiting www.unpri.org/responsible-investment/road-to-cop30

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction: The climate–nature nexus

02:32 – Graham Stock on integrating nature risk into sovereign...

Extreme weather events are reshaping the investment landscape. How can investors protect portfolios—and communities—from the rising physical risks of climate change? In this episode, Kate Webber, Chief Solutions and Technology Officer at the PRI, speaks with Dr Calvin Lee Kwan of Link Asset Management and Simon Whistler, PRI’s Head of Real Assets, to explore how investors can turn climate resilience into both risk management and value creation.

Overview

Physical climate risk is no longer theoretical—it’s here. Floods, fires, and black-rain events are increasing in frequency and intensity, with real financial consequences. Simon Whistler outlines how investors are beginning to quantify and address these risks, yet highlights that fewer than one-third of PRI signatories currently report on physical climate risk metrics. Calvin Lee Kwan shares how Link Asset Management has moved from reactive recovery to proactive resilience—reducing insurance premiums by 11.7% and strengthening investor confidence in the process.

Detailed Coverage

• Physical climate risk today: More frequent and severe events—from typhoons in Hong Kong to floods in Europe—are causing major financial and operational losses.
• Investor action gap: Only 29% of investors report on physical climate risk, compared with 50% in the real-assets space, showing the need for broader engagement.
• Value protection and creation: Link’s sustainability strategy is built on two pillars—protecting existing value through resilience and creating new value through efficiency and stakeholder alignment.
• From risk to return: Engaging insurers with clear, data-driven resilience metrics translated into measurable financial results, proving sustainability can deliver bottom-line benefits.
• Community resilience: Floodwaters don’t stop at property boundaries. Link’s team now collaborates with neighbors, local authorities, and infrastructure managers to build district-level resilience—an approach that benefits whole communities.
• Industry-wide change: Collaboration between investors, insurers, and policymakers is key to building consistent models, pricing resilience into valuations, and driving systemic adaptation.
• 
  
• Communication as a catalyst: For Calvin Lee Kwan, sustainability comes down to translating resilience into stakeholder-specific value—from stable returns for investors to safety and reliability for tenants.

Chapters

• 00:43 – Welcome and introductions
• 02:08 – Why investors must act on physical climate risk
• 05:07 – How far investors have come—and how far to go
• 07:23 – The cost versus opportunity debate
• 08:43 – Link Asset Management’s practical approach
• 11:48 – A watershed moment: floods and recovery
• 13:34 – Turning resilience into measurable value
• 15:23 – Black-rain events and extreme weather
• 16:59 – Challenges for other investors
• 20:23 – Partnering with insurers to price resilience
• 25:00 – From property-level to community-level resilience
• 27:28 – How resilience links to property valuation
• 30:50 – Final reflections: communication, focus, and leadership
• 32:44 – What is the responsibility of investing

For more details, visit: https://www.unpri.org/climate-change-for-private-markets/assessing-physical-climate-risk-in-private-markets-a-technical-guide/13135.article

Keywords

responsible investment, physical climate risk, resilience investing, PRI podcast, Link Asset Management, insurance and sustainability, real assets, climate adaptation, community...

Is the transition to a sustainable economy happening to us or because of us? Associate Professor Ioannis Ioannou (London Business School) joins host Kate Webber to unpack the recent ESG backlash and why today’s “disorderly transition” must become an orderly one. We explore how investors can push markets toward aligned capitalism - a system that lives within planetary and social boundaries - while unlocking “trapped competencies” and long-term value.

Overview

Ioannou argues we don’t choose whether to transition—the system is already shifting amid climate change, biodiversity loss, and widening social inequalities. The real choice is whether that transition is orderly (policy-led, long-term, and integrated) or disorderly (reactive, crisis-driven). He outlines how investors can re-center long-termism, integrate sustainability into core strategy (not a side product), and restore the original purpose of capital markets: scaling real-economy solutions.

Detailed coverage

• Orderly vs. disorderly transition: Planetary boundaries are breached; social stress is rising. An orderly path minimises harm and plans within ecological and social limits.
• Aligned capitalism: Capitalism is a human-made system that can be re-ruled to fit reality. Policy, incentives, and investment practices should align with science and society.
• From stranded assets to “trapped competencies”: Future-fit capabilities (circularity, regeneration, inclusion) remain undervalued until the system aligns—creating alpha for first movers.
• Investor playbook: Reframe metrics beyond short-term profits; deploy patient capital toward companies building system-shifting capabilities; advocate for rules that unlock these competencies.
• Integration, not silos: Sustainability must hold authority inside firms; RI can’t be a niche fund while the rest ignores impacts.
• Capital markets’ role: Finance the next industrial transformation (energy, transport, food). Prioritise scaling real solutions over purely financial engineering.
• Beyond shareholder primacy: Re-balance to a “team production” model that values natural and human capital alongside financial capital.
• Long-termism & multilateralism: Global problems need global collaboration; regionalism can’t substitute. Impacts are already “now,” not just long term.
• Why the ESG backlash can help: It forces clearer, evidence-based narrative infrastructure (not just technical standards) that connects with citizens and beneficiaries.
• Agency & communication: Engage end-investors better (including with AI-enabled tools); reflect their values in products; compound positive choices over time.
• Responsibility redefined: Don’t just align—restore and regenerate ecological and social capital.

Chapters

• 00:01 – Welcome & series context
• 00:52 – Guest intro and PRI’s Investment Case database
• 02:11 – Orderly vs. disorderly transition
• 05:38 – Defining “aligned capitalism”
• 07:37 – Future-fit capabilities & trapped competencies
• 10:51 – Investor incentives for alpha & impact
• 14:12 – Making RI core (authority, integration, structure)
• 18:17 – Capital markets’ original purpose
• 21:08 – Shareholder primacy & governance rethink
• 25:30 – Long-termism, regionalism, and global coordination
• 29:02 – Why the ESG backlash might be good
• 31:18 – From technical to narrative infrastructure
• 36:53 –...

A decade on from the Paris Agreement, COP30 in Brazil is shaping up to be the implementation COP. For investors, this means not only understanding the risks of inaction but also seizing the opportunities that climate and nature-based solutions present. In this episode, Tamsin Ballard, Chief Initiatives Officer at the PRI, speaks with Wendy Walford, Head of Climate and Nature Risk at Legal & General and Policy Track co-lead for the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, about why institutional investors are engaging in the UN climate negotiations and what they hope to achieve

Wendy Walford explains how Legal & General integrates climate and nature considerations into decision-making and why COP30 represents a pivotal moment. She highlights the role of private finance in achieving the Baku to Belém Roadmap commitment of mobilising $1.3 trillion for emerging and developing economies. The conversation explores why investors must be at the table, how alliances can amplify their voice, and why policy stability is the linchpin to unlock large-scale capital flows.

Detailed coverage

• Why COP30 matters to investors: Climate is a systemic risk that directly affects portfolios. Investors need to understand policy outcomes to align long-term allocations.
• The $1.3 trillion roadmap: COP29 in Baku highlighted the necessity of private finance in scaling investment into emerging markets. COP30 will test how barriers to this ambition can be addressed.
• Opportunities and risks: Mobilising finance offers huge upside in renewable energy, adaptation, and nature-based solutions, but investors also face volatility: FX risk, and limited data.
• Investor expectations for COP30: Calls for stable, long-term policy environments, signals to boost confidence, and frameworks to unlock investable opportunities in climate and nature.
• Nature-based solutions: From sovereign debt-for-nature swaps to carbon markets, innovative instruments are emerging but require multistakeholder cooperation and supportive regulation.
• Amplifying investor voices: Alliances like the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance provide a collective voice that ensures investor needs are heard in negotiations.
• The responsibility of investing: Long-termism is essential — balancing short-term returns with the duty to build resilient, sustainable portfolios for future beneficiaries.

Chapters

• 00:43 – Why COP30 matters to investors
• 02:19 – Legal & General’s role and the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance
• 05:23 – Why engage with UN climate negotiations?
• 06:04 – The Baku to Belém Roadmap and $1.3 trillion finance goal
• 08:44 – Barriers and risks in emerging markets
• 11:06 – Opportunities vs. resilience in climate investing
• 14:37 – Key asks for COP30 outcomes
• 15:57 – Nature-based solutions and innovative financing
• 18:18 – Investor expectations for government action
• 20:10 – Practical advice for engaging with the COP process
• 23:49 – What is the responsibility of investing?

Read more about the PRI’s Road to COP30 programme and buy your tickets to PRI in Person at https://www.unpri.org/sustainability-issues/climate-change/the-road-to-cop30

Find out more about the NZAOA at https://www.unepfi.org/net-zero-alliance/

Keywords

responsible investment, COP30 Brazil, PRI podcast, Legal & General, Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, climate finance, systemic risk, Paris Agreement, Baku to Belém Roadmap, emerging...

As geopolitical tensions rise, responsible investors are asking tough questions: Is there a case for responsible investment in defence? In this episode, Nathan Fabian, Chief Sustainable Systems Officer at PRI, is joined by Mark Wade (Allianz Global Investors), Estelle Parker (Responsible Investment Association Australasia), and Torben Möger Pedersen (Danish Foreign Policy Society; former CEO, PensionDanmark) to explore whether defence can be considered part of responsible investment, and if so, under what conditions.

Overview

The discussion examines the complexities of defence in the environmental, social and governance context. With NATO members increasing their budgetary commitments and European states boosting spending, defence is becoming a more prevalent part of the investment landscape. Yet reputational, human rights, and environmental risks remain at the forefront of investor concerns. The panel unpacks exclusion versus inclusion approaches, the rise of dual-use technologies, transparency challenges, and the role of stewardship in shaping defence practices.

Detailed Coverage

• The case for defence investment: Torben argues that democracy and national security are foundational, making military capacity essential to safeguarding rights and advancing long-term societal goals.
• Human rights and environmental risks: Estelle highlights investor obligations for heightened due diligence, noting reputational, environmental, corruption, and legal risks tied to weapons.
• Evolving client expectations: Mark outlines shifting European regulation and investor sentiment, with non-labelled funds more open to limited defence exposure under strict conditions.
• Dual-use technologies: The blurred line between civilian and military innovation (cyber, AI, drones, green energy) challenges investors to navigate benefits and risks.
• Transparency and disclosure: All panelists agree that investors need clearer reporting from defence companies — not on classified technology, but on customers, contracts, and safeguards.
• Stewardship opportunity: Rather than blanket exclusion, investors could push for higher standards by engaging directly with defence companies and shaping industry norms.

Chapters

• 00:44 – Why defence is back on the agenda
• 02:09 – Democracy, defence, adding the “D” into ESG?
• 05:26 – Human rights, reputational, and environmental risks
• 08:53 – Ukraine, NATO, and the defence boom
• 11:47 – Client expectations and regulatory shifts
• 16:08 – Responsible investing frameworks: defence as social necessity?
• 18:24 – Due diligence, customers, and sanctions
• 23:31 – Stewardship, standards, and defence bonds
• 28:33 – Dual-use technologies and transparency
• 37:36 – Human rights due diligence in practice
• 40:04 – Policy, regulation, and long-term certainty
• 45:00 – Final reflections on the future of defenCe investing
• 47:16 – The responsibility of investors in today’s world

Keywords

responsible investment, defence sector ESG, PRI podcast, democracy and defence, sustainable investing, fiduciary duty, NATO defence spending, human rights due diligence, reputational risk, dual-use technologies, defense bonds, military ESG risks, transparency in defence, systemic stewardship, long-term investment strategies, ethical investing, exclusion vs inclusion, autonomous weapons, investor stewardship, sustainable finance regulation

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