富兰克林邓普顿CEO：金融机构在应对气候变化方面的重要作用

富兰克林邓普顿首席执行官珍妮·约翰逊女士(Jennifer M. Johnson)近日出席全球财富管理论坛上海苏河湾峰会时，以《金融机构在应对气候变化方面的重要作用》为题发表演讲。

 

作为高度关注新兴市场及全球可持续投资趋势的头部机构之一，约翰逊女士首先明确了富兰克林邓普顿中国业务的战略支柱定位，并从投资者角度指出ESG投资已逐渐成为可持续投资方向的主流。对于金融业而言，约翰逊女士认为全行业需要从“权衡利弊”和“投入产出比”的旧有范式向“守正致胜，合力共赢”的ESG投资转变。此外，约翰逊女士还就全球监管动向、数据标准制定、创新科技助力等方面进行了颇有价值的分享。最后，约翰逊女士重申了富兰克林邓普顿的业务焦点，即持续激发ESG的资本潜力，与诸如中国这样的合作伙伴协力应对迫在眉睫的气候变化问题，促进全球尽快实现碳中和目标。

 

以下为演讲全文。

 

 

 

金融机构在应对气候变化方面的重要作用

 

珍妮·约翰逊

 

富兰克林邓普顿的中国业务由来已久，进一步践行我们在中国的承诺是公司战略计划的一个关键支柱。我今天的演讲主题是《金融机构在应对气候变化方面的重要作用》。

 

众所周知，投资者比以往任何时候都更加关注环境、社会和治理(ESG)以及可持续投资。彭博估计，2021年流入ESG投资产品的资金约为1,200亿美元，而五年前仅为40亿美元。两年多来，以ESG为重点的投资市场一直是全球最热门的投资领域之一。这种转变正在被大多数人所接受。的确，较为年轻的投资者更多地寻求反映自身价值的投资，但无论年龄长幼，多数投资者现在也都认识到ESG的重要性。

 

不断增长的投资热情反映了ESG的巨大潜力。无论是考虑到我们的粮食供应所面临的威胁，还是我们的海岸线所遭受的破坏，ESG都有潜力帮助减缓或扭转气候变化的影响，同时降低风险并提升长期投资效益。

 

看看中国可持续投资的潜力吧。据彭博社报道，中国拥有世界百分之二十的人口，但可利用淡水资源仅为全球的百分之七。众所周知，水资源短缺已经成为一个全球性且日益严峻的挑战。因此，中国审时度势地向外国和国内私人投资者开放了水务产业，这些投资者能够提供改善水的存储、分配和供给所需的资金。这一举措使得一些惠及苍生的新项目得以开工建设。

 

这就是我们常说的“共赢”，对社会和投资者都有好处。我们越是把“绿色转型”中的挑战看作是可以利用的机会，就越可能从中获益并得到效率上的提升。这也符合我们作为金融服务机构的受托义务与目标。这也就是为什么我们需要从“权衡利弊”和“投入产出比”的旧有范式向认识到ESG就是 “守正致胜，合力共赢”转变。ESG带来的影响与丰厚的财务回报之间并不互斥。事实上，二者将相辅相成、互为促进。

 

然而，如果不更好地协调推动资本分配和管理的激励措施，金融市场就无法有效应对未来的风险和机遇。我们已经看到欧洲乃至全球的监管力度都在加大。我们看到政府正在减少或取消对环境不利的因素，比如对化石燃料的补贴。这些变化旨在就气候转型问题发出更清晰的定价信号。究其根本，这事关引导资本流向更可持续的经济活动。

 

此外，全球监管机构正迅速推动制定企业ESG报告标准。国际可持续发展准则理事会在制定统一方案，美国的证券交易委员会也在制定相关规则。无论监管机构是否要求这样做，金融机构都需要解释何为他们所说的ESG以及可持续投资，以便投资者对ESG到底如何产生收益有所了解。

 

要取得成功，金融市场和投资者也需要准确的数据，而ESG的主要挑战之一仍然是缺乏投资级别的气候披露数据和分析。正如麦肯锡的一项研究指出，两家领先数据提供商的ESG评分相关性仅为42%；而另一项独立研究发现，排名前五的ESG评级提供商的评分相关性仅为57%。这恰恰印证了我们的理念，即真正的ESG投资需要通过主动管理从而积极地发现有助于抵御不利于可持续发展冲击的具体ESG因素，以提高风险调整后的回报。

 

金融行业正围绕全球指标和报告标准展开合作，包括可持续发展会计准则委员会(SASB)和气候相关财务信息披露工作小组(TCFD)。但距达成标准的最终统一，仍然任重而道远。

 

技术将在统一标准的进程中发挥重要作用。例如，区块链和通证化有一天可能会在促进ESG相关流程方面发挥关键作用，例如允许交易对手实时查看彼此的ESG相关数据。此外，数据专家们可以使用自然语言处理技术来发现那些发布可持续发展报告的公司，并提取传统数据源尚未发布的ESG数据和洞见。

 

我们最近在加州总部举办了“金融科技演示周”活动，展示以ESG为重点的新一代投资工具，开局收效甚佳。我们一直在研究如何将科技与主动投资过程结合起来。如果能实施我提到的数据解决方案并将其标准化，适当地调整激励措施，辅以技术进步，我相信ESG可以实现强劲的财务回报，这将对世界产生积极影响。

 

另外，气候变化问题已兵临城下。仅指望政府和非政府组织来应对这些挑战是不够的。金融行业必须发挥更大作用。我们的投资者也深知这一点，因为他们对ESG以及可持续发展的兴趣越来越高，金融机构从而必须紧随客户脚步。面对如此之多的投资者需求，那些致力于解决ESG问题的公司将更容易获得资金，而那些忽视这些问题的公司，在收购及持有资产方面预计将面临更大的挑战。

 

最后，感谢各位百忙之中的聆听。在中国演讲一向令人感到惬意，希望下次可以线下参会。富兰克林邓普顿早已看到中国的巨大优势，我们将继续发掘投资机会，增强本土投资能力，并扩大联营合作伙伴关系。

 

富兰克林邓普顿的行事关键，在于持续激发ESG的资本潜力。只要看看今年的第26届联合国气候变化大会就知道，中国是应对气候变化的强大力量。令人鼓舞的是，作为世界上最大、最具创新力的经济体之一，中国正站在太阳能生产等技术解决方案的前沿，这将促进全球尽快实现碳中和目标。

 

人、地球和利润之间可以深度连接，相互交织。时不我待，让我们全力以赴，履行承诺。在产业界、金融界和非政府组织的共同努力下，在发达国家和发展中国家之间建立真正的伙伴关系基础之上，相信我们能够应对气候变化挑战。

 

风雨之后，终见彩虹；攻坚克难，守正致胜！

 

 

  

The Important Role 

of Financial Institutions Can Play in Addressing Climate Change

 

Jennifer M. Johnson 

 

Franklin Templeton has a long history in the region, and further deepening our commitment to China is a key pillar of our strategic plan. My topic today is The Important Role of Financial Institutions Can Play in Addressing Climate Change. 

 

It's no secret that investors are more focused on ESG and sustainable investing than ever. Bloomberg estimates that roughly $120 billion flowed into ESG investment products in 2021, versus four billion just five years ago. The market for ESG-focused investments has been among the world's hottest areas for more than two years now. The shift is not just generational. While it's true that younger investors increasingly seek investments that reflect their values, a majority of investors, regardless of age, now recognize the importance of ESG considerations. 

 

The growing enthusiasm reflects the profound potential of ESG. Whether considering the threats to our food supply or the damage to our coastlines, ESG has the potential to help slow or reverse the effects of climate change while mitigating risk and driving long-term investment performance.

 

Just look at the power of sustainable investing here in China. According to Bloomberg, China has 20% of the world's population but just 7% of its fresh water. As you know, water scarcity is already a challenge globally and it will only get worse. So, China smartly opened its water industry to foreign and domestic private investors, who were able to supply the capital needed to improve water storage, distribution, and efficiency. This has resulted in ambitious new projects which are now underway.

 

This is what we call a win-win. Good for society and good for investors. The more we see the challenges of the “Green Transition” as opportunities to seize, consistent with the objectives and fiduciary responsibilities of intermediaries, the more beneficial and effective we are likely to be. That's why we need to shift the debate from “trade-offs” and “costs versus benefits” to recognizing that ESG is about creating “positive sum outcomes.” ESG impacts and strong financial returns do not need to be mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact, they can re-enforce each other. 

 

Yet financial markets cannot respond efficiently to the risks and opportunities ahead without a greater alignment of the incentives that drive capital allocation and stewardship. We're already seeing regulation ramp up globally, not just in Europe.  And we're seeing governments reduce or repeal disincentives, like fossil fuel subsidies. These changes are aimed at driving a clearer pricing signal on climate-transition issues. Fundamentally, it's about steering capital toward more sustainable forms of economic activity.

 

In addition, global regulators are rapidly pushing to develop standards for reporting by companies on ESG. The IFRS International Sustainability Standards Board is developing one approach, and, in the U.S., SEC rulemaking is also underway. Whether or not it's required by regulators, financial firms need to explain what they mean when they say ESG and sustainable investing, so that investors know what they are getting. 

 

In order to succeed, financial markets and investors also need accurate data, and one of the primary ESG challenges remains the lack of investment-grade climate-disclosure data and analytics. As McKinsey points out, ESG scores from the two leading data providers showed a correlation of just 42%, and a separate study found that scores from the top five ESG rating providers correlated just 57% of the time. This underscores our strong belief that true ESG investing requires active management to uncover the specific ESG factors that will help protect against adverse sustainability shocks, with the goal of improved risk-adjusted returns.

 

The industry is beginning to coalesce around global standards for metrics and reporting, including SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) and TCFD (Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures). But there's still a long way to go.

 

Technology will have an important role in this process. Blockchain and tokenization, for example, will likely one day play a key role in facilitating ESG-related processes, such as allowing counterparties to see each other's ESG-related data in real time. In addition, data scientists can employ natural language processing to help uncover those companies that publish sustainability reports and extract ESG data and insights that are not currently published by traditional data sources.

 

We recently held a FinTech demo week at our California headquarters to showcase next-generation investment tools with an ESG focus, and we're just getting started. We're constantly studying ways to marry technology with the active investment process. If we can implement the data solutions and standardizations I mentioned, properly align incentives, and harness technological progress, I'm confident ESG can deliver strong financial results and a positive impact on our planet. 

 

Climate change is here, and it's not enough to expect governments and NGOs to tackle the challenges alone. Finance must continue to step up. Our investors know this, too, given the elevated interest in ESG and sustainability. Finance must go where its customers are going. With so much investor demand, companies that demonstrate a commitment to ESG issues will have easier access to capital, while those that ignore these issues can expect to have increased challenges acquiring and retaining assets.

 

As I wrap up, I would like to thank each of you for your time today. It's always a pleasure to speak in China, and I hope to do so in person next time. Franklin Templeton has long seen China's tremendous strengths, and we will continue to uncover investment opportunities, enhance our on-the-ground investment capabilities, and expand our distribution partnerships. 

 

A key part of our approach will continue to be capitalizing on the potential of ESG. One only needs to look at this year's COP26 Summit to know that China is a powerful force in the fight against climate change. It's very encouraging that one of the world's largest and most innovative economies is at the forefront of technological solutions, like solar energy production, that will help lead us to a carbon-neutral world.

 

People, the planet, and profit can be deeply interconnected. So, let's double down on our commitments. We don't have a moment to lose. With business, finance, and NGOs working together, along with true partnership between industrialized and emerging countries. I believe we can not only confront the challenges of climate change, but come out stronger on the other end.

 

 

全球财富管理论坛

全球财富管理论坛是在金融开放背景下，为顺应全球资产管理行业发展与中国资产管理行业转型需求，由清华大学经济管理学院、孙冶方经济科学基金会、中国财富管理50人论坛联合发起成立的一个国际性交流平台组织，论坛旨在构建一个汇聚全球资产拥有者和管理者、监管部门和市场代表的长期对话沟通平台，为国内外资产管理机构搭建交流与合作的桥梁。