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

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...

Intro / Hook

The PRI Awards showcase the very best in responsible investment — but they also reveal much more. In this episode Paul Van Eynde, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at the PRI chats to award judge Claire Hierons of the Laudes Foundation and Dan Neale from the Church Commissioners for England, shortlisted for recognition. The conversation highlights how investors are embracing stewardship, system-level thinking, and accountability to drive real-world impact.

Overview

The PRI Awards are designed to spotlight leadership and innovation among PRI signatories, spanning asset owners, investment managers, and service providers. With over 139 submissions this year across categories including climate, nature, human rights, stewardship, and communications, the awards reflect the diversity and maturity of responsible investment worldwide.

Claire Hierons shares insights from her experience as a judge, noting the evolution of systemic stewardship and the growing sophistication of entries. Dan Neale discusses the Church Commissioners’ submission on the Investor Initiative for Human Rights Data (IIHRD) and why human rights must be central to addressing systemic risks such as climate change and inequality.

Detailed Coverage

• The role of the PRI Awards: Encouraging leadership, transparency, and innovation across the investment chain.
• Global coverage: Submissions from emerging and developed markets, showing that sustainability leadership is not limited by geography.
• Church Commissioners’ human rights initiative: Collaboration with global investors to strengthen human rights data, integrate it into stewardship, and ensure accountability across public markets.
• Systemic responsibility: Both guests stress the need for investors to see fiduciary duty not only as delivering returns but also as protecting the systems that underpin future value.

Chapters

• 00:44 – Introduction to the PRI Awards and categories
• 05:45 – Reflections on judging the awards
• 08:00 – Trends in responsible investment submissions
• 10:47 – The rise of global leadership in sustainability
• 11:42 – The Church Commissioners and their stewardship approach
• 14:05 – The Investor Initiative for Human Rights Data (IIHRD)
• 16:18 – Human rights as a systemic risk
• 17:12 – Embedding human rights into policy and stewardship practices
• 19:16 – Addressing data gaps and disclosure challenges
• 24:19 – What does “The Responsibility of Investing” mean today?

Keywords

responsible investment, PRI Awards, Laudes Foundation, Church Commissioners, stewardship, systemic risk, fiduciary duty, sustainability in finance, climate change, biodiversity, human rights in investing, ESG data, IIHRD, universal asset owners, just transition, investor innovation, responsible business practices, transparency in investing, New York Climate Week

How does a leading investment fund fully integrate stewardship and sustainability into its strategy?

In this episode of The Responsibility of Investing, Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff, Chief Responsible Investment Ecosystems Officer at the PRI, is joined by Jonathan Grabel, Chief Investment Officer for the Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (LACERA). They discuss how LACERA incorporates responsible investment principles across all asset classes, driven by a strong fiduciary duty to its beneficiaries.

Jonathan shares insights into LACERA’s governance structure, investment beliefs, and the operational integration of stewardship and the TIDE (Towards Inclusion, Diversity & Equity) programme. The conversation explores the role of data, proxy voting, and climate scenario analysis in managing risk and generating durable, risk-adjusted returns. Listeners will gain a clear understanding of how sustainability is embedded at every level of LACERA’s investment process to protect and grow assets for current and future retirees.

Visit the PRI website: https://www.unpri.org/