Projects

The request for expressions of interest only went to a selected group of potential providers, including the Climate and Energy Finance Group (CEFGroup), showing the value of CEFGroup’s engagement and public education efforts through activities such as guest lectures, seminars/webinars and the annual Assembly of Investment Chairs. After several rounds comprising of EOI, a full proposal (one of three providers) and a 2-hour workshop (one of two providers) that felt like an oral examination, the cross-disciplinary Otago team was successful.

FMAG commissioned the Climate and Energy Finance Group to conduct research to understand the demand for carbon offsetting and its drivers in New Zealand. The research involves a systematic literature review and a survey to gauge the extent of carbon offsetting’s impact on the forestry sector. Updates and outcomes will be shared on the project website to keep stakeholders informed.

The STRAND Marsden Fund Project is an interdisciplinary Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fund project ($869,000 between 2021 and 2024) exploring climate-change flooding-related risks to residential property values across space and time, and the related implications for financial stability. The project is led by Associate Professor Ivan Diaz-Rainey (Director, CEFGroup, University of Otago) and Associate Professor Antoni Moore (School of Surveying, University of Otago). Dr Quyen Nguyen, as the STRAND Marsden Fund Project Postdoctoral Fellow, is the principal modeller on the project.  The other member of the team are  Dr Simon Cox (GNS Science), Dr Greg Bodeker (Bodeker Scientific) and Dr Paul Thorsnes (Department of Economics, University of Otago). The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is a partner in the project.

CEFGroup is helping the EMMI team develop novel machine-learning approaches to estimate corporate carbon emissions in a timely manner, building on its work on Dr Quyen Nguyen‘s paper: “Predicting corporate carbon footprints for climate finance risk analyses: A machine learning approach“. EMMI is leading the way in building a global standard to assess carbon financial risk for companies.

See EMMI Co-Founder outlines carbon data problems and CEFGroup partnership for more information.

The purpose of this study is to answer the following research question “What factors are associated with ethical investing choices in New Zealand?” by analysing the survey data provided by Mindful Money. The project is led by Associate Professor Ivan Diaz-Rainey (Director, CEFGroup, University of Otago), Associate Professor Helen Roberts (Deputy Director, CEFGroup, University of Otago) and Dr Renzhu Zhang (CEFGroup Strategic Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Otago).

The project is led by Ms Amanda Sim (CEFGroup MFinc Student, University of Otago), Associate Professor Ivan Diaz-Rainey (Director, CEFGroup, University of Otago), and Dr Renzhu Zhang (CEFGroup Strategic Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Otago) in partnership with MyFiduciary and Private Capital Group (PCG).

Stakeholder demand for socially responsible investment has led to the rise of investment funds adopting responsible investment practices (e.g. ESG integration). The aim of this project is to evaluate the ESG performance of asset managers relative to their stated responsible investment policies and strategies. The project is led by Mr Lachie McLean (CEFGroup MFinc Student, University of Otago), Associate Professor Ivan Diaz-Rainey (Director, CEFGroup, University of Otago), and Dr Sebastian Gehricke (Deputy Director, CEFGroup, University of Otago) in partnership with Morningstar, MyFiduciary, and Saturn Advice.

Working Paper: In Holdings We Trust: Uncovering the ESG Fund Lemons

Industry Report: Australasian Fund Manager ESG Practices

This project explores who owns the potential emissions embedded within fossil fuel reserves, by utilizing the list of the top 200 companies with embedded carbon assets, the carbon underground 200. The first article explores a point in time ownership of these companies by finding the ultimate owners and exploring their total potential emissions ownership and influence in the network of investors. This research is a collaboration between Dr Sebastian Gehricke (Deputy Director, CEFGroup, University of Otago), Mr Truzaar Dordi (PhD Candidate, University of Waterloo), Dr Alain Naef (Economist, Banque de France) and Professor Olaf Weber (Research Chair in Sustainable Finance, University of Waterloo). Work on the second article is exploring this stranded asset risk’s impact on valuations and changes over time.

Publication: Dordi, T., Gehricke, S., Naef, A., & Weber, O. (2022). Ten financial actors can accelerate a transition away from fossil fuels. Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions, 44, 60-78.