Investors, regulators, and policymakers are increasingly recognising that physical climate risks can have financial impacts for investment portfolios. If these present material risks, investors need to take them into account to meet their fiduciary duty. By taking action on physical climate risks and opportunities, investors can help build the climate resilience of both individual companies and their portfolio more broadly, as well as helping to channel investment towards adaptation solutions. In turn, this can help to build the climate resilience of wider society to a changing and more variable climate.
This set of investor expectations of investee companies builds on guidance produced by IIGCC members that sets out how investors can integrate the risks and opportunities presented by the physical impacts of a climate change into their investment processes. The report recommends that a first step investors should take to manage physical risk in portfolios is to conduct engagement with investee companies. This can improve the availability of physical climate-related data and information for investors and ensure that actions are taken by investees to address risks and build climate resilience.