How Your Pension Could Be the Biggest Climate Lever You’re Ignoring Artwork

Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

Climate Confident is for business leaders, climate professionals and policymakers who need to understand what is actually cutting emissions—and what it takes to make those solutions work at scale.

Each Wednesday, technology and sustainability analyst, keynote speaker and former SAP Global VP Tom Raftery speaks with the executives, engineers, scientists, founders and policymakers turning climate ambition into measurable progress. Together, they examine the technologies, business models, policies and implementation strategies reshaping energy, transport, industry, supply chains, food and finance.

These are not conversations about distant targets, vague pledges or greenwash. They are candid discussions about what is working, what is failing, where the real bottlenecks lie, and how leaders can make better decisions about decarbonisation, resilience, investment and risk.

You will hear:

Proven approaches to reducing emissions
Hard-earned lessons from real-world implementation
Analysis of the markets, technologies and policies driving the transition
Honest examination of costs, trade-offs, setbacks and unintended consequences
Practical ideas for turning climate commitments into action

New episodes are published every Wednesday at 7am CET. Subscribers also receive bonus episodes featuring highlights, analysis and emerging themes from across the series.

Follow Climate Confident for practical climate solutions, informed debate and the insights you need to turn ambition into measurable progress.

Guest suggestions and feedback are welcome at Tom@tomraftery.com.

All Episodes

Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

How Your Pension Could Be the Biggest Climate Lever You’re Ignoring

September 17, 2025 • Tom Raftery • Season 1 • Episode 238

0:00 | 54:22

Get in touch - leave me a message

When people think about tackling the climate crisis, they often talk about energy, food, or transport. But what about money? In this week’s episode of Climate Confident, I sat down with Scott Ryan, founder and CEO of Investature, to unpack one of the biggest blind spots in corporate climate strategies, the financial supply chain.

Scott argues that pensions, retirement savings, and even our everyday bank accounts may be the largest single drivers of greenhouse gas emissions for many organisations, often dwarfing their direct operations and traditional Scope 3 supply chains. He explained how most retirement funds are still heavily invested in fossil fuels and high-pollution industries, even though those assets will almost certainly become stranded as the world pushes for net zero.

The numbers are staggering. Globally, pensions account for over $100 trillion. Redirecting just 1% of that towards climate solutions would close a third of the climate finance gap, enough to massively accelerate the transition in energy, mobility, agriculture, and adaptation. Yet most companies and individuals remain unaware of the scale of this leverage.

We explored why financial supply chains have been overlooked in frameworks like TCFD and GRI, and why leading employers are now beginning to integrate sustainable retirement options into their benefits. Scott also shared practical steps individuals can take, such as shifting to green banks, exploring climate-positive ETFs, or pushing employers to offer sustainable pension plans.

This is not just about risk management; it’s about turning finance into a genuine engine for climate solutions. If you’ve ever wondered how your savings could work for or against the planet, this episode will give you a fresh lens on climate action.

Support the show

Podcast subscribers
I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:

Anita Krajnc
Cecilia Skarupa
Ben Gross
Jerry Sweeney
Andreas Werner
Stephen Carroll
Roger Arnold

And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.

🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability?

I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.

Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck

And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.

If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident