Climate change must be front and centre not just in the minds of investors, but in those of military strategists as well. As the changing climate leads to more tensions over arable, liveable space and drives resource shortages, we can expect more strategic competition and regional disruption in regions around the world.  Our opening keynote discusses the role of climate in supply chains, economic and human security and how the military’s approach to climate change may inform the financial sector.    

The Taskforce on Net Zero Policy supports the development of stronger, clearer standards for net zero emissions pledges by non-state entities and speed up their implementation.  Will this help pension funds be more vocal about their needs?

In 2024 the global mean temperature was more than 1.5°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) average and some climate scientists have pronounced the 2°C dead. In early 2025, BlackRock exited the Net-Zero Asset Managers initiative while US president Donald Trump carries out environmental backlash. What do European pension funds do now? Do they double down on decarbonisation? Focus more on climate adaptation? Do they dive into policy advocacy? Is it truly possible to achieve portfolio decarbonisation without just excluding yourself to a massive tracking error? What tools are asset owners using and where are the sticking points? What is the role of private markets? 
Brenda Kramer, Executive Director, Sustainable Finance Lab
Adrien Perret, Member of the Executive Board, Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR)  

Buildings are responsible for 40% of the EU's energy consumption and one-third of its emissions. Of this, 80% stems from heating systems reliant on fossil fuel technologies. For institutional investors seeking meaningful climate impact alongside competitive returns, decarbonising heat represents one of the most significant yet overlooked opportunities in the energy transition.
Sebastian Carneiro – Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Solas Capital

The global debt markets have been reliable funding sources for events including the recovery from the GFC and Covid crises. But the world needs the debt markets to shift from supporting recovery to financing investment and growth. According to the Energy Transitions Commission, $3.5 trillion per year in capital investment is required between now and 2050 to fund the energy transition. But with debt levels high and slowing economic growth in much of the developed world, how can the debt markets help meet this challenge?

Advanced economies are decarbonising at the required rate. EMs are not. Blended finance has long been touted as a solution to the problem of getting money to developing markets – is it living up to its promise? What solutions are out there that will suit institutional investors? 

Minerals are key to the energy transition as essential components in many of today’s rapidly growing clean energy technologies. What are the opportunities and responsibilities for investors and what are the latest consensus-building activities and agreements reached by the miners and the investors in this sector? The Chair of the Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030 brings us up to date.

The transition to a sustainable economy demands that investors incorporate transition-focused elements into their fundamental decision-making processes. This involves navigating the complex regulatory and policy transition agenda and frameworks that impact both investors and investees. 

What are the critical challenges and considerations when investing in developed market equities with a transition focus? And what strategies or tools can investors employ to ensure their approach is both effective and credible? 
Dino D'Angelo - Senior Client Relationship Manager, Degroof Petercam Asset Management

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape of regulatory uncertainty and fragmented sustainability disclosures, building robust energy transition credit portfolios requires a focus on fundamentals. A top-down approach – reliant on ESG scores and exclusions – has often failed to capture company and asset specific risks and opportunities. To credibly align investments with the energy transition, investors should embed sustainability analysis within bottom-up research, including a focus on transition plans, sector dynamics and capital expenditure plans. Focusing on alignment of credit fundamentals with the energy transition is the most effective way to drive real world impact and capture emerging risks and long-term opportunities within portfolios. 

Why is emerging market private credit growth as an institutionalised asset class vastly underwhelmed vs developed markets?  Can investors capitalise on less deal competition to simultaneously generate real-world impact and attractive relative value opportunities? We explore this untapped opportunity in EM, highlighting case studies that exemplify the risk adjusted return asymmetry in decarbonising emerging markets.

After a tumultuous start to the year characterised in part by the controversy over the Commission’s omnibus initiative we now have a better idea of where the Commission/EU is heading with regard to sustainable finance. Time to take stock. 
Matthies Verstegen - Head of Brussels Office, Pensioenfederatie