Intro / Hook

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

Overview

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...

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

Risk Disclaimer

Your capital is at risk. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is...

With just weeks to go until COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the world’s attention is turning to how global climate commitments can move from promise to practice. Investors are central to this shift — from financing the transition to engaging with policymakers - all of which we’ll be discussing at PRI in Person in São Paulo, just days before COP30 kicks off. In this episode, Tamsin Ballard, Chief Investor Initiatives Officer at the PRI, speaks to Ana Toni, CEO of COP30, about the critical role of the investment community in shaping outcomes at this year’s UN Climate Conference.

Overview

COP30 marks a pivotal moment: the first time all elements of the Paris Agreement’s “full cycle” come into play. Countries must submit their decarbonisation and adaptation plans through to 2035, setting the framework that will guide both public and private capital flows. Against the backdrop of worsening climate impacts — and all this as the Amazon rainforest hosts — the stakes for implementation have never been higher.

Ana Toni outlines her three cross-cutting priorities for COP30:

1. Protecting the multilateral system to ensure global cooperation.
2. Connecting global negotiations to everyday realities of consumption, financing, and business.
3. Accelerating implementation — shifting from frameworks to real-world action.

Detailed Coverage

• Why COPs matter: From the Paris Agreement to carbon market reforms, COP outcomes shape financial systems, consumer choices, and long-term investor strategies.
• Decade after Paris: Governments now must present their 2035 climate plans, providing clarity and certainty for private sector investment.
• The finance dimension: COP30 will build on COP29’s focus on climate finance, aiming to mobilise far greater flows of capital — especially to developing countries.
• Risks and opportunities for investors: Climate change presents both physical and financial risks, but also growth opportunities in renewable energy, agriculture, sustainable infrastructure, and emerging markets.
• Investor engagement: COP30 is positioned as a platform for matchmaking — connecting regulators, private sector innovators, and financiers to accelerate solutions in areas like SAF, green hydrogen, and agriculture.
• From promise to practice: Both PRI in Person (São Paulo) and COP30 (Belém) are highlighted as forums where investors can move beyond commitments into specific, scalable solutions.

Chapters

• 00:43 – Setting the stage: COP30 and investor relevance
• 02:31 – Role of the COP30 CEO and the negotiation process
• 04:09 – Why COP decisions affect finance and daily life
• 06:37 – Priorities and hopes for COP30
• 10:17 – 2035 plans and Paris Agreement “full cycle”
• 12:51 – Risks and opportunities for investors
• 16:54 – Practical ways investors can engage with COP30
• 19:14 – PRI in Person as a platform for dialogue
• 22:27 – The responsibility of investing: acting now for the long term

For more information on PRI in person, or its plans for COP30, please visit the following links:

PRI in Person 2025 - 4-6 November

The Road to COP30

Keywords

COP30, UN Climate...