Investors such as PensionDanmark and PGGM are reappraising the risk-return on offer in emerging markets, according to discussions at Climate Week NYC.

Ida Mosegaard Schiellerup, a senior ESG analyst at Pension Danmark, spoke on a panel at the Sustainable Investment Forum in New York City on 22 September. Pension Danmark has invested in renewable energy projects in Europe for 15 years. These days the Danish pension fund finds itself more drawn to deals in emerging markets.

“That is not because we do not want to invest in Europe, but because the frameworks [and] the regulations have become so complex in Europe, whereas we’re seeing an enormous appetite for capital and a willingness to regulate in a pragmatic way in other parts of the world, especially in the Global South and in emerging markets in Southeast Asia,” Schiellerup said.