Looking Ahead to Climate Week

  • Rockefeller Asset Management Climate Week

Rolando Morillo co-portfolio manager of Rockefeller Asset Management’s climate and ocean strategies looks ahead to Climate Week.

Looking Ahead to Climate Week
September 17-24

A Brief Overview

Since 2009, The Climate Group, a non-profit organization aimed at achieving a world of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, has hosted Climate Week. The event coincides with the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting at the UN headquarters in Manhattan, allowing heads of state and senior governmental figures to attend and participate.

The largest event of its kind, Climate Week brings together some 400 events and activities across New York City. This year’s program includes core events, along with side events hosted by non-governmental organizations, coalitions, corporations, foundations, and other institutions—including Rockefeller Asset Management.

Increased Importance

This year’s event is especially timely. Recent floods, droughts, violent storms, wildfires, and record-setting temperatures are just a few examples of how climate change is impacting lives around the globe. As a case in point, July 2023 was record-breaking, as global average daily sea surface temperatures hit the highest mark in history.

In addition, a recent report showed that we are likely to trigger six tipping points events that—if they take place—would cause irretrievable damage to the earth’s systems and irrevocable changes. We believe these events will help drive increased awareness, engagement, and action related to climate change.

Rockefeller Asset Management’s Participation

As in the past, we are actively participating in Climate Week 2023. In addition to attending numerous secessions, Rockefeller Asset Management is hosting two special events:

  • UN Global Compact Event: Convening industry leaders, policymakers and high-level stakeholders in the Blue Economy Finance space.
  • Planet Tracker Event: Focusing on investment risks in the plastic supply chain and how investors can take action.

Investor Implications

For more than 10 years, Rockefeller Asset Management has been managing strategies that invest in companies actively involved in addressing climate change and its implications. More specifically, we have engaged with companies on addressing climate transitional and physical risk from an ocean-centric lens as it pertains to the Paris Climate Accords.

We believe climate change will have profound impact on society and markets, which will lead to new regulations, government policies, and shifts in consumer behavior. At the same time, we feel companies will increasingly benefit by providing services and equipment that align with a lower carbon economy.

We currently have two thematic strategies to help capitalize on the investment opportunities associated with climate change.

  • Our climate strategy is focused on solution-oriented business models that seek to address climate change mitigation and adaptation. We believe companies that provide climate solutions will outperform the overall market over the long-term due to what we believe is a once in a lifetime generational opportunity.
  • Our ocean strategy is an emerging theme tied to climate change given the ocean’s critical role in regulating climate systems and “The Blue Economy”. The Blue Economy is linked to SDG 14, which is reported to be the least funded Sustainable Development Goal. However, it is gaining more investment and policy support for ocean-based climate solutions and ocean-positive products and services.

Rockefeller Asset Management has been committed to responsible ownership of assets we manage on behalf of our clients in our thematic and ESG strategies. We seek to act as responsible stewards of capital through the incorporation of active shareholder engagement to generate returns and to help catalyze change . Understanding climate change science is critical in enhancing our research process to mitigate risks while seeking to capture investment opportunities that can support consistent long-term investment performance.

Disclosures:

Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Some of the risks involved with equities include the possibility that the value of the stocks may fluctuate in response to events specific to the companies or markets, as well as economic, political or social events in the U.S. or abroad.

ESG investing refers to an investment approach that incorporates ESG criteria into the investment process. This approach is subjective by nature, and there is no guarantee that an ESG investment approach will be successful or that it will reflect the beliefs or ideals of any one particular investor. ESG market data is limited and much of the data is unstructured and reported in varying increments and timetables. While we endeavor to obtain and analyze relevant ESG market data, there is no guarantee that we will be successful in these efforts. ESG investing can also limit the investment opportunities available to a portfolio, such as the exclusion of certain securities or issuers for nonfinancial reasons and, therefore, the portfolio may perform differently than or underperform other similar portfolios that do not apply an ESG criteria to their investment approach.

Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Goal 14 or SDG 14) is about “Life below water” and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United States of America in 2015. The official wording is to “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.

This material was prepared by Rockefeller Capital Management, solely for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy interests in any Rockefeller Capital Management investment vehicle, product or service, and should not be interpreted to constitute a recommendation with respect to any security or investment plan. Although the information provided is carefully reviewed, Rockefeller Capital Management cannot be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss resulting from applying any of the information provided. Forward-looking statements, including those presented herein, are inherently uncertain, as future events may differ materially from those reflected, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protection against losses.

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