PRI x CoREi x InfluenceMap Seminar on Climate Finance Implementation Strategies

to Promote Climate Action and Renewable Energy Investment

Corporate Renewable Energy Initiative (CoREi), jointly operated by KoSIF, UN Global Compact Network Korea, and WWF-Korea, co-hosted the “PRI x CoREi x InfluenceMap Seminar on Climate Finance Implementation Strategies to Promote Climate Action and Renewable Energy Investment” with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and InfluenceMap on October 14 (Tue), at the Lotte Hotel.

This seminar was organized to explore the role of climate finance and implementation strategies to accelerate the transition to renewable energy, a key challenge in achieving carbon neutrality, and to develop concrete solutions enabling companies and financial institutions to collaborate in expanding renewable energy investment and strengthening policy coordination.

The seminar began with a welcome address by Yeonchul Yoo, Secretary-General of the UN Global Compact Network Korea. “Responding to climate change has now become a key driver for restructuring the economy and the flow of capital, as well as a central priority in the sustainability strategies of companies and financial institutions,” he said, emphasizing that “to achieve carbon neutrality, the transition to renewable energy and the expansion of private and institutional investment to support it are essential.”

Next, Minhye Park, Executive Director of WWF-Korea, noted, “Large-scale financial investment flows from both the private and public sectors toward achieving carbon neutrality have recently become more active.” She emphasized, “In particular, as seen in WWF-Korea’s domestic and international collaborative projects, when various companies and institutions pursue local initiatives using climate-related funds, they must take into account community acceptance and sustainability.”

Finally, Dylan Tanner, CEO of InfluenceMap, emphasized that “investors’ active participation in climate policy is key to the transition,” explaining that “market mechanisms and technological innovation alone have their limits, and clear, science-based policies will drive investor action.”

Next, David Atkin, CEO of PRI, officially kicked off the seminar with a keynote speech titled “The Role of Institutional Investors in Driving Climate Action and Climate Finance.” Emphasizing that sustainable finance is an essential strategy for long-term value creation, he explained, “Investors and companies have a responsibility to understand the impact of sustainability factors on performance and to reflect this in their decision-making.” Citing the example of 2023—a year in which economic losses from climate-related disasters reached $368 billion, with 60% of those losses uninsured, making it one of the years with the most significant losses due to climate change—he pointed out, “Climate risk is already a financial risk embedded in the market.” Finally, he emphasized that consistent and clear government policies, coupled with the active roles of asset owners and companies, are necessary to drive capital flow enabling swift responses to climate change.

In the subsequent presentation, Sejin Lee, Korea Program Manager at InfluenceMap, discussed “Climate Finance Policy Engagement and Stewardship Implementation in the Global Financial Sector,” explaining the current status and case studies of policy engagement activities by major financial institutions. Based on InfluenceMap’s analysis of climate finance policy engagement activities, she emphasized the importance of responsible stewardship, noting, “Some institutions demand that governments strengthen their carbon reduction targets or terminate investment relationships with companies engaged in negative lobbying activities.” To this end, she introduced methods that financial institutions can use to engage in policy advocacy, such as setting expectations for science-based policy engagement of investee companies, establishing clear obligations for policy engagement, directly engaging in key climate policies, and strengthening indirect policy engagement through financial associations.

Next, Taehan Kim, COO of the Korea Sustainable Investment Forum, delivered a presentation titled “Transition to Renewable Energy through Sustainable Finance.” He noted that while Korean financial institutions have made progress over the past four to five years—such as declaring a phase-out of coal and establishing Science-Based Targets (SBTs)—“the scale of Korean financial investment in fossil fuels still amounts to about five times that of renewable energy, and structural transition remains insufficient, as evidenced by the increase in LNG investment despite the decline in coal investment.” He continued, “the growth rate of renewable energy financing outstanding balance in Korea plummeted from 23.3% in 2020 to 7.5% in 2023, and the growth rate of new renewable energy financing also recorded a decline of 11% in 2023, showing negative growth,” he explained, emphasizing the need to revitalize renewable energy financing and suggesting that measures such as the establishment of the “Korea Green Finance Corporation”, which could catalyze investment.

In the subsequent panel presentation, Kyoungsun Heo, Head of Center for Asia-Pacific Fiscal Affairs at the Korea Institute of Public Finance, explained, “Addressing climate change is a long-term challenge fraught with uncertainty; since sufficient investment cannot be secured through private capital alone, government finances must supplement the market and drive the public transition.” She also highlighted case studies from the United States, China, and Japan, emphasizing the current state of fiscal support for climate action in Korea and the need to enhance the effectiveness of government financial support.

Next, Joonsop Kim, Team Leader of the ESG Research Team at KB Securities, explained that green bonds still account for the largest share of the sustainable finance market, while new types of bonds, such as transition bonds, are gradually expanding their market share. Sharing the current status of sustainable finance markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the United States, he explained, “Although the scale of green bond issuance in the Korean market is relatively small and trading volume is limited, this could actually serve as a potential investment opportunity from a contrarian perspective, and there is a need to establish sustainable investment strategies and expand market participation.”

Next, Yonghwan Choi, Head of the ESG Research Team at NH-Amundi Asset Management, discussed the importance of the green transition from high-carbon to low-carbon industries, infrastructure investments in renewable energy, and the revitalization of the carbon market for the development of green finance in Korea. From a comprehensive perspective, he proposed enacting a Green Finance Promotion Act and establishing a Green Finance Corporation as measures to achieve the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Next, Dae-hyun Cho, Team Leader at the Asian Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC), emphasized that “ESG and climate finance are matters of ‘finance’ and ‘investment,’ not merely declarative slogans,” stressing that they must be linked to concrete investment strategies. He explained that to revitalize climate finance and renewable energy investment in Korea, it is crucial to improve access for foreign institutional investors by enhancing financial and non-financial frameworks, and to disclose plans for introducing sustainability disclosure standards that ensure the comparability of Korean companies.

The panel discussion, the final session of the seminar, was moderated by Yeonchul Yoo, Secretary-General of the UN Global Compact Network Korea. Participants included Kyoungsun Heo(Korea Institute of Public Finance); Joonsop Kim(KB Securities); Yonghwan Choi(NH-Amundi Asset Management); Dae-hyun Cho(Asian Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC)); and Taehan Kim(Korea Sustainable Investment Forum). Discussion topics expanded from the current status and challenges of revitalizing climate finance in Korea to the roles of private and public finance in expanding renewable energy investment.

Inquiries: Seung Youn Seo, Senior Researcher(syseo@kosif.org), Nahyun Nam, Senior Researcher(nhn5505@kosif.org)