Corporate Bonds: Is it time to deny debt to companies not aligning to the Goals of the Paris Agreement?

10/11/2020

A panel discussion was held to consider research from Professor Andreas Hoepner of University College Dublin that profiles the debt refinancing needs of the 161 most carbon intensive companies that are the focus of the Climate Action 100+ initiative.  Professor Simon Dietz outlined how the Investor Tool, the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), plans to assess corporate debt and a panel of leading Asset Owners / investors discussed what this means for their funds and how we approach engagement with companies when they are raising debt.  The panel also considered the recently launched IIGCC Net Zero Investment Framework and the implications for Paris Alignment within Corporate Debt.
 
Agenda:

Welcome: Adam Matthews 
Opening Remarks: Laura Chappell, CEO Brunel Pension Partnership 
Presentation 1: Professor Andreas Hoepner of University College Dublin 
Presentation 2: Professor Simon Dietz, the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) 
Panel Discussion:
  • Professor Andreas Hoepner, University College Dublin School of Business
  • Professor Simon Dietz, TPI & London School of Economics Grantham Research Institute
  • Laura Chappell, CEO Brunel Pension Partnership 
  • David Hickey CFA, Portfolio Manager Lothian Pension Fund 
  • Stephanie Pfeiffer, CEO of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) 
  • Dr Ellen Quigley, Advisor to the Chief Financial Officer (Responsible Investment), University of Cambridge, Research Associate (Climate Risk & Sustainable Finance), Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge