Climate 'critical' for 60% of APAC investors, just 27% in US: Robeco

Robeco's 2026 Global Climate Investing Survey of 300 institutional and wholesale investors, managing around US$35.8 trillion, found 56% of APAC investors said climate change is central to their investment policy.

That levels with Europe where 58% of respondents ascertained the importance of climate change to their investment strategies.

This is double the proportion of that seen in the US, where just 27% of respondents said climate remained important for investment policy.

"This year's results show stabilisation here, with 47% overall saying that climate change is at the center of, or a significant factor in, their investment policy. And the regional difference persists," the report read.

Robeco climate and biodiversity strategist Lucian Peppelenbos said: "Our 2026 study illustrates what we call the new reality of climate investing. While investors remain committed to their net-zero goals, there is a growing realism that the transition is driven by hard economics and hard geopolitics."

"The drive for energy security is benefiting investments in areas such as renewables, battery storage and grids. The new climate reality is also a realisation that physical risks are here now, not in a distant future. We believe this will increasingly drive investor sentiment in the next few years."

The study found investors getting to grips with the trade-offs involved in decarbonising portfolios: investment performance is still the biggest challenge overall (50%), but it has fallen sharply from 2025 (67%).

Data quality has also reduced as a challenge, although balancing targets with impact (41%) and dealing with complex asset classes (37%) remain high up on the agenda.

Peppelenbos said: "Climate investing is becoming more sophisticated with more forward-looking data rather than carbon emissions only, and more integrated with financial performance. As investment engineers, we continue to innovate with data and research so that we can support our clients."