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Report: Our Sustainable Future; Mobilising Queensland’s Financial Opportunities

Written by | Mar 27, 2024 4:21:08 AM

The Queensland Futures Institute’s Forum – Our Sustainable Future: Mobilising Queensland’s Financial Opportunities – outlined the breadth of Queensland’s natural capital and the imperative to develop solutions to adequately quantify and value the benefits of these assets.

Appropriately valuing and investing in our state’s natural assets will require market-based solutions to align investment incentives with sustainability goals and drive long-term economic and environmental value.

 

SPEAKERS

   

 

 

Maree Adshead
Chief Executive Officer,
Eco-Markets Australia
Nicole Bradford
Head of Sustainable Investment 
Australian Retirement Trust

Professor Mark Brown
Director, Forest Research Institute; Director, Forest Industries Research Centre; Professor of Forestry Operations
University of the Sunshine Coast

Katrina King
General Manager, Capital Solutions
QIC
Anna Marsden 
Managing Director
Great Barrier Reef Foundation

MODERATOR: Elizabeth Rose
Partner, Climate Change and
Sustainability Services
EY

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF PANEL COMMENTS
 
  • In a rapidly transforming World, it is critical to ensure clear signals and efficient markets exist to
    facilitate investment and financing in natural capital initiatives and assets.
  • Queensland’s natural assets are a key pillar supporting several industries across our economy, but
    we must ensure they are adequately valued in investment decisions, particularly as we address
    biodiversity loss and climate change.
  • The Great Barrier Reef is a significant asset for Queensland, and it is imperative to develop solutions to
    protect. The Reef Credit Scheme is one example of a nature-based solution to do this, but developing
    robust and transparent methodologies to quantify and value outcomes is critical to its success.
  • As a solution more broadly, nature repair markets require collaboration, a stable policy environment,
    and pioneering investment to signal their success in generating outcomes across ecosystems and to
    provide confidence to investors.
  • Deep markets for these products will emerge if natural capital investments are proven to be effective.
    This will give rise to broader investments by fund managers and superannuation as natural capital
    forms a distinct asset class.
  • Government will continue to play a critical role in supporting sustainable investment, as exemplified
    through the Australian Government’s recent Sustainable Finance Strategy.
 
PANEL QUESTIONS
 

What do you think is the biggest natural capital investment opportunity in Queensland right now?
What are the barriers to scaling investment into these activities or sectors, and how can we
overcome these?

 

 

Elizabeth Rose

  • Queensland’s economy is based on our plentiful natural resources, spanning mineral
    and resources, the natural capital of the Great Barrier Reef, our plentiful sun and wind,
    fertile land and vast forests.
  • These natural assets underpin the diversity of Queensland’s economy and support the
    mining, tourism, fisheries, forestry, and renewable energy industries. They also provide
    the biodiversity which Queensland is known for.
  • Our economy is deeply connected to natural capital, but this is not appropriately valued
    in investment decision making. As we face the twin crises of climate change and
    biodiversity loss within our economy, it is critical to consider these natural assets into
    the future as we continue to grow a prosperous Queensland economy.

 

Maree Adshead

  • The biggest natural capital investment opportunity in Queensland is the
    Great Barrier Reef.
  • The reef is valued at around $56 billion, supports 64,000 jobs, and contributes
    $6.4 billion annually to the economy.
  • However, poor water quality is the second largest threat to the reef’s health behind
    climate change. This is why the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments
    have set targets to enhance water quality by reducing soil sediment (by 25%) and
    dissolved inorganic nitrogen (by 60%) by 2025.
  • Meeting these targets has been estimated to cost $8.2 billion to achieve and will
    require more than grant funding or regulatory intervention alone. There is a significant
    role for market development around sustainable opportunities which will contribute
    to protecting our natural capital.
  • One example of this is the Reef Credit Scheme, which has been instrumental in
    pioneering environmental markets and testing the robustness of their methodologies
    for six years. The Scheme is a standard that sets out the rules, eligibility and
    accounting methodologies to value and quantify outcomes – which in this case is
    removing one kilogram of dissolved inorganic nitrogen or 538 kilograms of sediment.
    We independently audit and administer the scheme to measure and verify pollutant
    reduction. This process results in the issuance of reef credits, which are tradable
    certificates – not unlike a carbon credit – that correspond to a verified outcome. Projects
    and the Reef Credits generated are tracked through our publicly accessible Registry.
  • Through this process, we have identified several barriers around the effectiveness
    of the scheme and scaling investment, including insufficient methodologies and
    difficulty in engaging landholders. This results in difficulties in generating the supply
    of reef credits which results in inability to balance the market and achieve the desired
    outcomes, regardless of the amount of investment we can attract.
  • There is a strong need for better explanatory material to educate participants on the
    opportunity of this market and ensure robust certificate supply. On the demand side,
    government investment in credits would provide a strong signal and boost market
    confidence in the integrity of this market.
  • While the Queensland Government has committed $10 million to reef credits,
    there remains a significant financing gap which must be met in order to meet
    the estimated $8.2 billion required to achieve the work and activities required
    to protect the reef.

 

Anna Marsden

  • The biggest natural capital investment opportunity in Queensland right now is in
    nature repair markets.
  • Queensland possesses significant and iconic natural assets, including the Great
    Barrier Reef, making it crucial to protect and repair our natural capital.
    As such, there is a unique opportunity for Queensland to lead in crafting
    investment programs beneficial for nature, business, and society.
  • While there is a lot of work which needs to be undertaken to support terrestrial
    ecosystems, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation is focused on coastal ecosystems
    – which includes ‘blue carbon’ initiatives, and protecting mangroves, sea grass and
    wetlands – and marine ecosystems particularly in combating coral bleaching events.
  • The goal is to create a circular, conservation economy where nature repair and
    conservation initiatives are funded by nature capital investors rather than relying
    solely on government support. This would see Traditional Owners, tourism operators
    and regional communities supporting activities which protect the reef and generate
    marine biodiversity credits.
  • Barriers to supporting and scaling these initiatives include the lack of critical
    technology, methodologies and capabilities needed to build a robust and deep market
    and attract the investment required.
  • Additionally, developing these initiatives and markets will require partnership and
    collaboration across various sectors. NGOs and environmental conservation groups
    will play a critical role in bringing valuable local knowledge and expertise to facilitate
    and scale these natural capital investment programs.

 

Professor Mark Brown

  • The biggest natural capital investment opportunity in Queensland, from a forestry
    perspective, lies in managing the significant amounts of land currently utilised for
    agriculture, timber production, forest management, and grazing.
  • Land managers are interested in diversifying land use for both commercial outcomes
    and long-term sustainability, and already have a very strong base of knowledge
    around the opportunities to diversify land uses and protect natural capital.
  • Convincing land managers to adopt new practices to protect natural capital will require
    building on existing knowledge of communities and First Nations by empowering
    them with new information, skills, and technology. This collaborative approach to
    land management will support dual outcomes in both primary use and well as carbon
    reduction or biodiversity.
  • A key barrier to this is the challenge of ensuring the stability of legislation and policy
    required to facilitate long-term investment. This is particularly relevant for forestry
    given the multi-decade commitment of land managers.
  • As such, providing stability and confidence through future policy is essential to unlock
    these investment opportunities.

 

Katrina King

  • QIC manages $100bn for our clients, with a significant footprint in Queensland assets. This includes $13bn in infrastructure and $5bn in real estate, as well as private debt and equity and recently, natural capital.
  • We consider that natural capital investments are critical for solving energy
    transition and biodiversity challenges at scale. This is why we have established the
    Queensland Natural Capital Fund in partnership with the Queensland Government.
  • The fund aims to stack returns, ensuring investors receive appropriate risk-adjusted
    returns by including agricultural commodity returns, which comprises a significant
    component of the fund given the strength and complementarity of this asset class
    with natural capital investments.
  • Agriculture is considered a robust asset class, and its value proposition is bolstered
    by a growing global population and protein demand, but with finite arable land.
    These strong supply and demand factors will continue to underpin the prices of
    agricultural commodities.
  • Through the fund’s stewardship, we ensure investments are managed to deliver
    sustainable outcomes, including biodiversity benefits, carbon offsets, water quality,
    and soil quality improvements.
  • The markets and opportunities around these outcomes are still nascent and cannot
    currently be comprehensively measured. As such, the fund offers a risk-adjusted
    return reflective of these conditions, which may eventually grow toward
    larger returns.
  • Queensland is favoured for natural capital investments due to supportive political
    landscape, from both State and Federal Governments. This is particularly important for
    technology investments – which is exemplified through our investments into AgTech.
  • It is also blessed with a vast land area, of which 88% is pasto ral land. This presents
    significant propensity and opportunities for generating carbon credits. For scale,
    the size of the opportunity in this area is six times larger than New South Wales or
    Victoria, and five times larger than Western Australia. This is driven by the state’s
    biodiversity, diverse ecosystems, climate, and rainfall, which all contribute to its
    potential for natural capital investment.

 

Nicole Bradford

  • As a superannuation fund, our primary goal is to help our members retire well with
    confidence, with approximately 65% of our more than 2.3 million members located in
    Queensland. ART works with approximately 120,000 employers across Queensland
    to help their employees with superannuation obligations.
  • We manage over $280bn in assets globally, with over half of these funds invested in
    Australia and several billion dollars invested in public and private markets
    in Queensland.
  • While we invest in various asset classes – including private equity and credit, listed
    equities, fixed income, infrastructure and property – natural capital is not currently
    included as one of our defined asset classes, given the need to seek risk-adjusted
    returns for our members.
  • We balance ESG considerations with our obligation to invest in accordance with
    members’ best financial interests. As such, our Sustainable Investment Policy and
    Net Zero 2050 Roadmap guide our current approach. In practice, this sees ART
    focusing on stewardship and ESG integration throughout the investment process.
  • We engage with companies and assets to seek to promote environmental, social,
    and governance outcomes, and assess fund managers based on their integration of
    ESG factors into investment decisions. This process sets the expectation that fund
    managers consider the different parameters of ESG which are financially material.
  • Queensland Treasury’s recently released sustainability report shows ambition and
    targets for climate change and natural capital, but implementation will be crucial
    to realising these ambitions. Investors require certainty and opportunities with
    appropriate risk-adjusted returns to effectively deploy capital, highlighting
    the importance of implementation for realising these sustainability targets.

What drives the supply and demand of the reef credits market? How can the government best
support these markets? How important is the credibility and measurability of these credits from
an investment perspective?

 

 

Maree Adshead

  • Credibility and measurability are vital for the reef credit water quality market to
    attract investors. Investors require confidence in the realness, permanence, and
    scientific validity of the outcomes they are buying. Additionally, participants such
    as landholders or wastewater treatment plants need assurance of returns on their
    investments and potential impacts on their operations in generating reef credits.
  • A strong investor pipeline is critical to generate both supply and demand for reef
    credits. To achieve this, independent oversight is needed to ensure the integrity
    of the market and credibility of outcomes and maintained investor confidence.
  • Market finance mechanisms augment existing, or traditional government support
    through grant funding, or setting appropriate regulatory intervention.
What is the role of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation in supporting investment in natural capital
in Queensland. What are some projects or examples of investment in natural capital, or financing
climate adaptation and mitigation?
 

 

Anna Marsden

  • The Great Barrier Reef Foundation supports investment in natural capital in
    Queensland by validating and authenticating co-benefits to biodiversity and nature
    repair. This work supports the development of the market and helps to fi rm up the
    methodologies of investment products and opportunities for investors such as ART
    and QIC through its Natural Capital Fund.
  • We are currently working across several coastal restoration projects, including a
    seagrass nursery in Glasgow which will eventually support the establishment of six
    similar projects across the Great Barrier Reef. These nurseries have the potential
    to sequester four tonnes of carbon each year but require development of improved
    techniques to collect and plant seagrass seeds.
  • These projects are well received as high-quality blue carbon projects given their
    potential to involve traditional owners and local communities. This work also lends
    itself well to conservation economy start-ups.
  • The GBRF is also piloting and approving programs to address gaps in the market
    and attract future investment. This includes corporate philanthropy, including
    support from companies like Coles, L’Oréal, and Airbnb. These investment partners
    help to underwrite these initiatives.
  • These opportunities highlight the importance of catalytic investment in the natural
    capital space which signals to investors and corporations that they can deploy
    capital from their green funds with the intention of earning returns, rather than
    investing philanthropically from CSR funds.
What are some current examples of investment in the forestry sector?

 

Professor Mark Brown

  • Forestry sector has a long history with sustainability certification globally, having
    dealt with two global standards for over two decades. The industry therefore
    understands the commercial implications and impacts on operation of these
    certification standards.
  • There is clearly a growing interest in understanding the impact of natural capital
    investments, which is driving corporations and investors to seek tangible outcomes
    for the projects they invest in.
  • We are currently working on a project in the Philippines which is focused on natural
    forest restoration and conservation. This is a result of 23 years of research around
    the social, environmental, and commercial implications, as well as a strong
    commercial understanding to deliver the project.
  • There are also significant opportunities for similar projects in Queensland and across
    Australia, with over 1.7mn hectares of plantations across the country. Companies
    and investors are seeking to leverage this opportunity and diversify their portfolios to
    include carbon management, with a focus on carbon accounting and the biogenic
    carbon cycle that can be delivered through forestry initiatives.
  • Development around understanding the biogenic carbon cycle is critical, especially
    in the context of utilising timber for construction, where carbon sequestration can
    occur for hundreds of years with the right carbon accounting of the entire process,
    from forestry through to timber utilisation which considers the embodied carbon in
    buildings and resource recycling.
  • An example from Western Australia involved introducing trees to combat dryland
    salinity issues in cooperation with the agriculture industry, showcasing success
    in natural capital initiatives in forestry. This project highlighted the importance of
    managing expectations and building confidence in investment outcomes, particularly
    given the time investment of multiple decades required by landholders.


How are investment teams exploring biodiversity opportunities given the significant board
and stakeholder pressure? What is the investment proposition for investors, and how you are
addressing concerns?

 

 

Katrina King

  • Ensuring robust valuation and quantification methodologies through the correct
    market design and regulatory mechanisms is key to the opportunities we have
    discussed. As such, it is critical to ensure the right reporting, measurement and
    transparency frameworks for the biodiversity and reef credit schemes.
  • When this is successfully achieved, the demand for these initiatives can significantly
    influence the business plan of companies, as equity holders can be confident that
    they will deliver tangible outcomes.
  • Another challenge is the relative lack of expertise of Australian institutional investors
    in agricultural investment and the initiatives we have discussed, as compared
    to international investors such as Canadian pension funds. To overcome this,
    investment teams must collaborate with agricultural consultants to help develop
    their knowledge of these investment products, as well as to help in assessing yield
    forecasts. The use of these third parties helps to provide confidence to in vestment
    committees internally when investing in these products.
  • A key challenge is that of superannuation investment regulation, given there is no specific bucket for ESG investments. This gives rise to tracking error given natural
    capital investments are assessed against performance benchmarks of existing asset
    classes such as infrastructure, real estate or private equity. For the purposes of
    these comparisons, these investments are best compared to real estate, given the
    significant component of return derived from capital gains from land.
  • Government advocacy and support is critical to address the issues around
    performance benchmarks and help to unlock investment in natural
    capital opportunities.


What role is the Australian Government playing in supporting investment in natural capital through
actions such as the sustainable finance strategy and the sustainable finance taxonomy?
 


 

Nicole Bradford

  • The Australian Government’s Sustainable Finance Strategy marks a significant
    shift toward directing capital into a net-zero emissions economy. This comprises
    three pillars: transparency, finance capability – including policy and regulation, and
    government leadership.
  • The taxonomy proposed within the strategy defines climate transition and climate
    solutions, aiding investors in making informed decisions by categorising activities as
    either transitioning or green solutions.
  • This will also regulate the disclosures that will be required across both public
    and private organisations. This reporting will also be required to include their
    strategy, their risks, and how they produce services and activities for the economy.
    Together, these outline the impacts of the company on climate change as well as
    their contribution to the trajectory towards a net-zero economy. This will clarify and
    standardise the definitions and approaches towards investing in the
    climate transition.
  • Additionally, the taxonomy will introduce a “do no significant harm” consideration to
    investment decision-making. This will ensure investments in climate solutions do
    not negatively impact other important areas, such as biodiversity. This concept is
    important and will mandate that investment decision-makers appropriately balance
    positive and negative outcomes, mitigating negative impacts.
  • Queensland’s Climate Action Plan aligns with the taxonomy’s focus areas, including
    energy, mining, metals, materials, and the built environment, positioning the state
    to benefit from the strategy’s implementation. In energy, this will place the state on
    track for 2035 emissions reduction targets.
  • The state is well positioned to benefit from the taxonomy proposed by the Australian
    Government and the strategy more broadly.

AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

Given the broad client base of superannuation funds and your fiduciary duty to act in the members’
best financial interest, how can we make investments which benefit members and wider society in
the long term?


 

Nicole Bradford

  • Superannuation funds cater to a diverse membership base, from young to older
    members, each at different stages of their retirement journey. From an investment
    perspective, the varying needs and risk profiles of our members is reflected through
    a range of asset classes, such as fixed income and infrastructure. Through these,
    we can consider how to best support projects that deliver climate outcomes.
  • We are also guided by our Net Zero 2050 Roadmap, through which we have set our
    target for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our investment portfolio
    by 2050, in addition to interim targets including 43% emissions reduction by 2030
    across various asset classes. A climate investment target across our portfolio will
    also be set in line with our Roadmap, later this year.
  • Other superannuation funds are also actively setting climate investment targets and
    engaging in transition strategies to align with their net zero emissions objectives.
  • To ensure credibility and avoid greenwashing, investments will be made based
    on evidence-supported targets which guide our overall stewardship efforts of our
    investments. This will see us engaging with companies and assets to facilitate
    the transition.
  • The Australian Government’s introduction of the taxonomy, specifically incorporating
    the concept of the transition, is seen as beneficial as it provides a framework for
    evaluating investments in this context.
What are the barriers for natural capital becoming its own asset class, and how can we
overcome them?
 

 

Katrina King

  • There is a diversity in natural capital investment opportunities overseas, each with
    various return streams and risk profiles. This spans what might be considered
    traditional natural capital investments, to AgTech, to infrastructure projects.
  • Through the Australian Government’s current consultation paper, we have an
    opportunity to outline solutions and new areas, building on traditional definitions of
    natural capital to encourage investment while ensuring transparency. This presents
    a prime opportunity to establish natural capital as a distinct asset class in Australia,
    leveraging the initiatives currently underway.
What is one action that would create a compelling commercial imperative and drive interest in the
opportunities, products and services discussed today?
 

 

Maree Adshead

  • Businesses are awakening to the realisation that nature must not be considered as
    free and are consequently shifting their perspectives.
  • The reef credit scheme is a nascent market, and there is a clear need to
    better understand and value reef credits. To do this, and drive interest in such
    opportunities, it is critical to have faith in these pioneering initiatives, encourage
    participation and investment in schemes like the reef credit market in order to drive
    traction and develop deeper understanding.

 

Anna Marsden

  • Consumer demand is a key driver for creating a compelling commercial imperative
    and building markets of the future.
  • Currently, environmental concerns often take a backseat to other pressing issues
    like cost of living. But unless environmental issues become a top priority for
    consumers, investing in nature repair programs will remain a secondary concern.

 

Professor Mark Brown

  • Properly recognising and valuing sustainable forestry practices in the market is
    critical to continual improvement of these initiatives.
  • While there may be pressure to remove native forests from timber production, this
    does not eliminate their natural capital potential. Changing the way these assets are
    managed is a result of a changing business model.
  • Currently, sustainable forest management efforts are undervalued in the market. As
    such, appropriate incentives will be required in order to drive sustainable natural
    capital outcomes. For example, to shift from timber production would require an
    understanding of how to monetise outcomes such as biodiversity and
    carbon abatement.
  • A counter example is the value created by timber production management in fire risk
    mitigation. The value created by this must be balanced against all other elements of
    natural resource management, and appropriately valued in markets.

 

Katrina King

  • While regulatory incentives or penalties may encourage participation – creating
    deep and liquid markets with the right incentives is critical to creating a
    compelling commercial imperative to invest in the initiatives and opportunities
    we have discussed.
  • This requires standardisation to achieve; it is essential for the industry to avoid
    overcomplicating the definition of biodiversity and carbon credit units. This also
    requires alignment among states and governments.

 

Nicole Bradford

  • Disclosure will be a critical component to unlocking the opportunities we have
    discussed. Investors require reliable information and certainty to make informed
    investment decisions.
  • The Australian Government’s legislated sustainability disclosures will be crucial
    to achieving the required level of disclosure. These are already proposed to include
    climate change and may soon also include biodiversity impacts. These will introduce
    standards which are equivalent to accounting standards, requiring director’s
    declarations and auditing. These disclosures will be released alongside annual
    reports and financial statements.
  • Together, this will give rise to the disclosure of information needed to facilitate
    investment in these markets.