Nine chief executives from Australia’s top superannuation funds and fund managers have formed a panel to push for greater certainty on carbon pricing.
The investor CEO panel on climate change commands a combined value of over $350 billion and includes Australia’s largest industry superannuation fund, Australian Super, and Australia’s largest funds manager, Colonial First State Global Asset Management.
It is the first panel in the sector to address the issue of uncertainty over carbon pricing and will work with all political parties.
The panel will be represented on the government’s business roundtable on climate change by the Investor Group on Climate Change, headed by Nathan Fabian.
The panel held its first meeting last week and heard a briefing from economist Professor Ross Garnaut on the “least-cost policies” to address carbon risks in the domestic and international economies.
Mr Fabian outlined the need for greater certainty in the sector, saying that super funds and funds managers invest in “every asset class in the economy”.
“Some of them are emission-intensive. Some are not. If there is any regulatory change it’s going to change the value of some of the assets that they own. And it’s also going to change where they would put their money in future.
“This new panel is going to try and argue for resolution of the regulatory framework or rules so that they can make investment decisions,” he said.
Mr Fabian said investment certainty could not be restored until a way to price carbon had been arrived at.
“Investors will keep putting off investment decisions until the rules are clear. And they really need a framework that is long term,” he said.
“There needs to be some kind of price on carbon so that investors and business can price that in or include the value of carbon in their investment decisions And they will wait until that’s in place before they start to allocate to low-carbon investment.”
Mark Lazberger, chief executive of Colonial First State Global Asset Management has said that “current uncertainty surrounding carbon pricing hinders investment decision-making across both emissions-intensive and low-emissions assets.
“To allow sensible long-term investment decisions, the framework for pricing emissions must be resolved.”
