Understanding the bigger picture of responsible investing

Clockwise from top left: Aidan Yao, Senior Emerging Asia Economist of AXA Investment Managers; Zaid Alrifai, Head of Architas Asia; and Dexter Agcaoili, AXA Philippines Investment Solutions Director.

 

AXA Philippines, in partnership with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) recently organized the “Road to Net-Zero: The look inside China’s quest to champion climate action” forum, hosted and moderated by Zaid Alrifai, Head of Architas Asia. Architas is a global asset manager under the AXA Group that manages investments on behalf of institutional and retail clients. This is the last installment of a three-part webinar series that advocates responsible investing.

During this Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) webinar, Aidan Yao, Senior Emerging Asia Economist of AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) talked about how achieving the Paris Accord’s aim for carbon-neutrality can be a challenge without the immediate action of countries with high carbon dioxide emissions.

The good news is that China, the top carbon emitter, last year announced the country’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality before 2060. Their first step is to flatten the emission curve from now until 2030. Then, transition from peak of carbon emission to net-zero emission by the end on 2060. This undertaking comes with the need to reallocate resources from some parts of the economy and society.

“In China, green bonds helped to finance wide areas of industries that are consistent towards carbon neutrality such as the renewables, the electric vehicles, batteries, green building, and water conservation,” Yao said. Green bonds finance new or existing projects that benefit the environment and foster net-zero emission.

China’s burgeoning green bonds market presents enormous investment opportunities for companies like AXA who have been following the principles of ESG.

As a long long-term global investor, AXA has a duty to act in the best interest of its policyholders and stakeholders. With the help of its global fund managers, Architas and AXA IM, AXA is committed to align its investments with the principles of ESG and integrate these factors in its investment decisions that over time would influence positive change in the companies it invests in.

As responsible investors, AXA aims to reach 25 billion euros in green investments by 2023, reduce its own carbon footprint of AXA’s general account by 20 percent by 2025. As an insurer, it is also developing insurance products that cater specifically to the needs of vulnerable population. As an organization, it will promote awareness on climate change and the knowledge on ESG through training and further education of its employees and stakeholders.

Through the recent webinars, AXA and the ECCP hope to provide an informative platform where local investors can equip themselves with the knowledge needed to become more responsible in their investment decisions and for the fund managers to be their partners and effectively guide them through the whole process.

For more information on Responsible Investing topics, visit https://www.axa-im.com/responsible-investing or https://www.architas.com/responsible-investing/.