Climate Capital Goes Global As U.S. Turns Inward

Forbes

a day ago

An aerial view shows solar panels at the fishing-solar complementary photovoltaic power generation ... More base in Lianyungang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on July 31, 2024. (Photo by AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)
There's an old adage in politics: presidents propose, but markets dispose. That has never felt more true than in today's climate investment landscape.
In the wake of President Donald Trump's return to the White House, a quiet recalibration is underway. Investors—global and clear-eyed—are responding not with panic, but with poise. According to Robeco's 'Global Climate Investing Survey 2025,' a new study covering more than 300 institutional investors managing over $31 trillion in assets, the message is clear: the climate investment story is far from over. In fact, many believe it's only pausing before a stronger rebound.
Yes, a shift is happening, as only 46% of investors now say climate change is central or significant to their investment policy, down from 62% last year. But the story isn't one of retreat—it's one of resilience. Across Europe and Asia-Pacific, where policy support remains robust, climate remains a top priority for over 60% of investors. Even in North America, where the dip has been most pronounced, many are choosing not to disengage, but to diversify.
Shifting Strategy, Not Commitment
The data shows we are not yet seeing a mass exodus from climate investing, but rather a strategic rerouting. Nearly 60% of investors say they're waiting to see how U.S. policy develops before making major moves in sectors likely to be impacted. But what's striking isn't the caution—it's the confidence.
A majority—56%—believe the impact of current U.S. policies will be temporary. They're not abandoning climate goals; they're simply adapting their timelines. Similarly, 53% say that while the Trump administration may slow down their portfolio decarbonization efforts, it won't stop them. Less than a third believe it will derail their net-zero ambitions altogether.
In fact, the long-term picture is anything but bleak. Nearly two-thirds of respondents expect climate change to become central or significant to their investment policies within the next two years, suggesting that today's lull is more of a policy-induced intermission than a structural shift.
And even in the near term, optimism is driving action. A substantial 39% of respondents plan to increase investments in climate solutions. Top targets include electricity grid modernization (39%), renewables (34%), carbon capture and storage, sustainable real estate, and advanced battery technologies—all cited by nearly a third of respondents. The appetite is not shrinking; it's becoming smarter, more global, and more resilient.
The Global Opportunity Awakens
While some see the U.S. slowdown as a setback, others view it as an opening. Investors are expanding their horizons—and fast. Europe and Asia-Pacific are now emerging as prime destinations for climate capital, thanks to consistent policy signals and supportive regulatory environments. According to the survey, 58% of European and 62% of Asia-Pacific investors are more likely to look beyond the U.S. for climate-related opportunities. Even 38% of North American investors are eyeing international markets for deals in climate solutions and transition-aligned companies.
This isn't just a geographic pivot. It's a sign that climate investing has truly gone global. No longer anchored solely to American leadership, the movement for climate-aligned capital is now distributed, diversified, and powered by a mosaic of policy environments.
When investors look outside the U.S., they're not giving up—they're hedging against volatility and betting on stability. More than half of European and Asia-Pacific investors expect their own governments to maintain or increase net zero policies over the next five years. That's a compelling draw for global capital seeking policy clarity and long-term alignment.
Resilience Is the Strategy
Even in the trickier terrain of climate adaptation—where concerns about returns and investable products remain—there's growing recognition of future opportunity. Around half of investors believe climate resilience will become a major growth theme for equity markets in the next three to five years. While barriers persist, from product scarcity to uncertainty around risk-adjusted returns, the seeds of progress are being planted.
As Lucian Peppelenbos, Robeco's Climate and Biodiversity Strategist, put it: 'While many investors remain committed to climate goals, the overall prioritization of climate change in investment strategies is showing signs of decline, particularly at the global level.' But even in that realism lies a thread of hope: the commitment remains. What's changing is how and where investors are pursuing those goals.
In other words, we are witnessing not a retreat from climate, but a rebalancing—one shaped by political currents but ultimately steered by long-term vision.
What this moment reveals is something deeper about markets: they have memory. Investors remember the rapid expansion of clean energy investment under Biden. They see how quickly capital can flow when policy aligns with innovation. And many believe that will happen again—sooner than we might think.
Trump's administration may be testing the climate economy's political resilience, but it has not shaken the foundational conviction that the energy transition is inevitable—and investable.
The climate investment story isn't ending. It's just flipping to a global chapter, with new characters, new settings, and the same central conflict. And that story, investors believe, still ends in net-zero. The plot may twist, but the arc bends toward decarbonization.