The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees has partnered with Sydney’s independent Climate Institute to launch a world-first survey on how pension funds manage the risks and opportunities presented by climate change.


The Australian Asset Owners Climate Change Initiative survey will be issued to all 80 Australian super funds with more than $1 billion under management. The survey will be sent to funds in Europe and the US later in the year, and will be officially launched by the Minister for Superannuation, Senator Nick Sherry at Parliament House later this month. “This initiative will assist asset owners in meeting the challenges of both the physical impact of climate change and new policies and regulations which will be the realty of carbon-constrained economies,” said Fiona Reynolds, chief executive of AIST. The survey, which amongst other things will ask funds how they are preparing their investment portfolios for the introduction of carbon trading, was announced by Ian Robertson, chair of AIST, at the opening session of the Australian Super Investors conference at Port Douglas yesterday.