Investing To Save The Planet
Most people would agree that 2020 has been a year of disruption, unexpected change and constant volatility. It would be hard to think of anyone whose personal circumstances have not been affected by COVID-19; it really has been a challenging time for many of us. Despite the chaos caused by the pandemic, some things have become clearer than ever before with the most apparent being the climate crisis. 2020 was a year when major steps forward were taken by governments, corporations and institutional investors to put climate change at the heart of their polices and strategies. In reality, it has taken time for these parties to realise that putting climate first is actually good for business, people and the planet.
From my perspective, it can be challenging to think about the solutions required to address climate change, while still meeting the energy requirements needed to keep developing and push things forward. I try to do a lot of reading around the topic for my own education, but also for my job. When Siobhan Clarke, Operating Partner at Launchpad, recommended Investing To Save The Planet, I knew it would be an interesting read. Written by the Deputy News Editor for the Financial Times, Alice Ross, Investing To Save The Planet paints a compelling portrait for how green investing is no longer reserved for the capital rich investors who can wait for long periods before seeing a return. The book starts with a gentle overview of what green investing actually is and the common misconceptions surrounding it. Ross concisely describes the role of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), an investment class with many grey areas, especially when it comes to how asset managers and investors select and subsequently label these investments.
The author introduces the reader to her Green Investing Building Blocks which are the financial instruments commonly used by individuals and investors to make climate influenced investments. Building blocks include things like bonds, private equity and pensions which are all covered in a really concise way, providing just enough detail to give you an insight into how they work and vary in impact. The book moves on to the heavily debated topics of divestment and to the role oil and gas companies and their investors have played in climate change and what they must to do to be part of the solution going forward. Ross explores how the world needs to transition to cleaner forms of energy and how previous efforts investing in such solutions didn’t succeed during the cleantech boom and bust of the previous decade. The author demonstrates the different approaches investors are taking and some of the major green sectors where capital is currently being deployed, namely agriculture, energy efficiency and transport.
One of the really excellent elements of the book is that each chapter closes with a What can you do section that outlines actions we can take to make choices and investments that have a positive impact. Naturally some investments can result in a bigger impact or return but the author highlights that the associated financial risk may also be greater. Investing To Save The Planet is a book that I really enjoyed reading, it provides a solid overview of the green investing landscape and how we can actually have an impact. What’s more, the book is focused on providing the reader with the information needed to have a more informed view of where our money is going and how it’s being used. Investing To Save The Planet offers an interesting argument that simply demanding clean energy and technology is probably not enough. We also need to be conscious investors too, regardless of how big or small that investment may be.
You can find a copy of Investing To Save The Planet: How Your Money Can Make a Difference here.