Faith Ward explains Climate Stocktake in Asset TV interview

Climate Stocktakes are a key component of the Net Zero journey, said Faith Ward, Chief Responsible Investment Officer at Brunel, earlier this week.

Speaking in a studio interview with Asset TV’s Mark Colegate, Ward explained how Brunel Pension Partnership has pursued its own Climate Stocktake.

“The UN came up with the idea of a ‘Global Stocktake’ in 2023 and 2028 in order to see how aligned the world was with the Paris goals – we wanted ours to be a deep dive too, and so we’re taking a whole year over it,” said Ward.

Major global events have recently made the road to Net Zero more “bumpy”, Ward argued – and that makes regular reviews all the more important.

“What we have experienced in the last few months – particularly the knock-on effects from the invasion of Ukraine – are a bump from an energy transition perspective,” said Ward. “So you need review points.”

There is a particular focus on decarbonisation progress and the broader societal push to step away from fossil fuels.

Independent scrutiny

Asked about the independence and objectivity of the process, Ward explained that Brunel used an external party to conduct a review process with Brunel’s stakeholders.

Ultimately, the review should enable Brunel to tweak its approach in order to maximise its impact and respond to recent developments in regulation, investment and new opportunities.

“One of the outcomes will be a report and another will be a new policy, with new objectives and targets, to support our Net Zero objectives,” said Ward.

Just Transition

Ward was also asked about the Just Transition and how to ensure it is more than talk.

“If we don’t make the transition socially inclusive, it is not going to happen,” said Ward. “What we have lacked is the detailed methodology and guidance, not just at government level but for investors. The Grantham Institute is doing important work on this.”

Ward said some companies are already factoring the just transition into their climate plan, and gave the example of Scottish & Southern Electric.

“One in five UK jobs is going to be affected by the transition – that’s a lot of redeployment of labour,” she said. “It is work in progress, but we have to address these issues, and more is due out in the coming months to help investors to get it right.”

You can watch the video at the top of this page or on the Asset TV website (sign-in is via LinkedIn or registration).