Source: New Zealand Super Fund
New Zealand has the chance to attract significant global investment into its climate transition – but only if it can create investible opportunities at scale, says Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation co-Chief Investment Officer Will Goodwin.
In a speech to the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia’s Conference Aotearoa NZ 2025, Goodwin said sustainable investment is now central to how the world’s largest asset owners manage risk and deliver returns – with climate change presenting both risks and opportunities.
“The question is how we position our portfolios – and our economy – to take advantage of these opportunities.”
With global investors mobilising trillions of dollars into the transition, Goodwin said New Zealand has to act fast to secure its share.
“Capital is mobile. It moves quickly, across borders and markets, chasing scale, clarity, and certainty. If other countries create conditions that are more attractive to investors, that’s where the capital will go.”
Citing the NZ Super Fund’s successful investments in renewable energy infrastructure in the US and Europe, Goodwin said the Fund has seen first-hand what works when the right conditions give investors the confidence to commit.
“Ultimately, New Zealand needs to be creating investible opportunities at sufficient scale, and making it all simple and easy – which includes making it straightforward for capital to come in and to exit,” Goodwin said.
“Despite the noise of shifting politics, the global tide is still moving in one direction. Long-term asset owners, global regulators, and markets recognise that climate change is a material risk. Investors don’t mistake surface changes for the deeper currents – the direction of travel is clear, and it isn’t reversing.”
Read Will Goodwin’s speech in full here
