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The Office of Climate Sustainability held the third installment of its investment seminar series on Tuesday night, focusing on the potential of climate change markets and the issue of the role of mission-driven institutions in responsible investment practices.
Duke University students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Bolton Family Tower Room of the Broadhead Center for a conversation featuring guest Trinity ’90 expert Jason Scott. Since graduating from Duke University, Scott has been active in the fields of climate change and sustainable investing, holding multiple positions at Renewable His Resource Group and Spring His Lane His Capital.
“I think in the last 18 to 24 months there has been a fundamental shift in the way people think about the risks in climate investing,” Scott said.
Scott identified two macro-level changes that contributed to this change. First, federal policy is moving in favor of investing in sustainable products and industries, as evidenced by the Inflation Control Act of 2022’s emphasis on renewable infrastructure and regulatory changes under the Biden administration. The economic perspective is also proving compelling, as renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are rapidly becoming more cost-effective than fossil fuels.
Second-year MSc student Meera Ayagali, Director of Environment and Sustainability at the Graduate and Professional Student Government, was one of the evening’s hosts and was an expert on climate change at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Based on my experience of attending meetings, I agreed with Mr. Scott’s opinion. , I took the Bass Connections course last December.
“What I’ve heard repeatedly is that investors around the world see investing in renewable energy as less risky than it used to be, and more investors are looking to invest in this space.” said Ayagali.
Ronnie Chatterjee, Mark Burgess, and Lisa Benson-Burgess Distinguished Professor of Business and Public Policy assisted Ayagali as the event’s other moderator. His recent work on CHIPS and science law under the Biden administration brings insight into the importance of public-private partnerships in supporting innovation in climate change markets.
Participants will explore the climate change space by stepping into what Scott calls the “missing middle ground” in finance and talent between small venture capital firms and more traditional large asset management firms. They discussed the role that universities can play in promoting investment.
He explained that many companies develop a “carbon budget” that they give to their portfolio managers. Such internal carbon pricing systems have proven to be effective in ensuring that the effects of climate change are taken into account in investment decisions, and this helps financial institutions calculate financial returns. It’s very similar to how you do it.
Scott pointed to university endowments as prime candidates for such a policy and voiced support for primarily student-led divestment campaigns on campuses across the country. Duke University’s own divestment campaign began 11 years ago under the leadership of the student group Duke Climate Coalition and will continue through the fall of 2023.
“I think interdisciplinary school-to-school dialogue is the biggest opportunity for Duke University to make a big impact. Personally, what I’m most interested in is how do we support our alumni, our students and our faculty, across these schools?” “It’s about mobilizing like that,” Scott said.
OCS will continue to foster these conversations in the fourth session of its annual series, scheduled to be held on February 6 at 6 p.m., to consider the definition of climate risk in the investment context.
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| Associate News Editor
Zoe Korenovsky is a sophomore at Trinity University and an associate news editor in the press department.
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