September 2025

We need to harness pensions to progress the SDGs and economic prosperity

A decade after their adoption, the UN Sustainable Development Goals still need trillions of dollars of investment. Ten years ago today, the UN Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by 193 states at the UN General Assembly in New York. Celebrities from Beyoncé to Stephen Hawking and Malala backed the launch. The then-US President Barack Obama called it a historic achievement. He also warned that emerging and developing nations, “don’t just want aid, they want trade. They want businesses. They want investment”. In...

Leveraging pension funds as an alternative source for climate funding in Ghana

Ghana can unlock a transformative source of climate finance by strategically channelling part of its growing pension fund assets into climate-aligned investments. With pension assets reaching GH¢86.23 billion as of 2024, the country has significant untapped potential to bridge climate financing gaps. Directed deployment of this capital into renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and resilient infrastructure, enabled under existing NPRA and SEC guidelines, offers a scalable pathway to accelerate progress toward national climate commitments, deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),...

How fiduciary duty is shaping pension fund attitudes towards climate risk

From an individual perspective, pensions are promises. Promises of dignity in old age, of rewards deferred, of stability earned over time. From a systemic perspective, however, pensions are systems engineers. Standing at the junction of what is and what will be – set the money aside now to live a good life in the future – pensions effectively enable economic systems to perpetuate themselves. Through investments, they silently design our future or, more often than not, prolong our past decisions. In...

Dutch central bank reviews climate and nature risk to pensions and insurance

De Nederlandsche Bank is making a new push to help financial institutions manage climate and nature-related risk and it is conducting analysis of these risks at pension funds and insurers with a view to incorporating them into its regular risk assessments. “While the emphasis in recent years has been on raising awareness, DNB will increasingly focus on regulatory compliance. Supervision will follow a risk-based approach, tailored to the institution’s size, complexity, and the materiality of the risks,” the Dutch central...

The climate crisis might jeopardize your retirement: Experts warn Canada’s pension watchdog is underestimating risks

Wildfires, floods and other severe weather events are not going away, they are only becoming more common, part of what scientists have been warning for decades. The economic shocks of changing oceans, the jet stream and the loss of our polar ice caps, as well as mass glacial loss in Canada turning our forests into tinder boxes, will only get worse as global temperatures blow past the tipping point that marked severe planetary distress. For those who have to plan...

Australian Retirement Trust invests $1b in Macquarie green energy fund

The Australian Retirement Trust (ART) has invested nearly $1 billion in the renewable energy-focused Macquarie Green Energy and Climate Opportunities Fund (MGECO). The numbers: The investment is part of the superannuation fund’s commitment to invest at least $2 billion by 2030 in assets that can generate returns while delivering social and environmental benefits. ART manages $350 billion in retirement savings on behalf of more than 2.4 million Australians. The context: Aside from climate change, ART’s $2 billion impact investment commitment will also flow to...

UK. ​Schemes urged to probe asset managers’ net zero commitments

Pension schemes and institutional investors should look beyond industry pledges when assessing whether their asset managers are genuinely committed to net zero, consultancy LCP has said. The warning follows recent changes and an ongoing review of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. While such pledges provide a useful indication of intent, including target setting and progress reporting, LCP said pension schemes must scrutinise managers’ actions more closely to ensure climate goals are credible. LCP has suggested four questions for pension schemes...

August 2025

US. BlackRock decries ‘politicizing’ pension fund management

Top asset manager BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab on Wednesday pushed back against pressure from U.S. Republican and Democratic officials, saying both sides have injected politics into the running of retirement assets and it only seeks to fulfill its fiduciary duties to clients. The message isn't new but it came in an unusual memo the company sent to 43 state treasurers, auditors and other officials of both major political parties, seen by Reuters. In late July, 26 Republicans signed on to a letter, opens...

In a Hotter World, Some People Age Faster, Researchers Find

Living through extreme heat waves can accelerate your rate of aging, according to research published Monday. Scientists analyzed 15 years’ worth of health data from nearly 25,000 adults in Taiwan and found that two years of exposure to heat waves could speed up a person’s so-called biological aging by eight to 12 extra days. It may not sound like a lot, but this number builds over time, said Cui Guo, an assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong who led...

Enhancing Financial Regulation of Green Infrastructure Investment

By Andreas (Andy) Jobst The paper examines the critical need for enhanced financial regulation to support green infrastructure investment as climate action becomes increasingly pressing. It points out that infrastructure is responsible for more than two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions and that climate-related disasters lead to annual losses of nearly one percent of GDP, with poorer countries being disproportionately affected. Green infrastructure plays a crucial role in reducing carbon footprints through renewable energy and low-emission transport, as well as...