Robeco logo

Disclaimer Robeco Switzerland Ltd.

The information contained on these pages is solely for marketing purposes.

Access to the funds is restricted to (i) Qualified Investors within the meaning of art. 10 para. 3 et sequ. of the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”), (ii) Institutional Investors within the meaning of art. 4 para. 3 and 4 of the Financial Services Act (“FinSA”) domiciled Switzerland and (iii) Professional Clients in accordance with Annex II of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (“MiFID II”) domiciled in the European Union und European Economic Area with a license to distribute / promote financial instruments in such capacity or herewith requesting respective information on products and services in their capacity as Professional Clients.

The Funds are domiciled in Luxembourg and The Netherlands. ACOLIN Fund Services AG, postal address: Leutschenbachstrasse 50, CH-8050 Zürich, acts as the Swiss representative of the Fund(s). UBS Switzerland AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, 8001 Zurich, postal address: Europastrasse 2, P.O. Box, CH-8152 Opfikon, acts as the Swiss paying agent.

The prospectus, the Key Investor Information Documents (KIIDs), the articles of association, the annual and semi-annual reports of the Fund(s) may be obtained, on simple request and free of charge, at the office of the Swiss representative ACOLIN Fund Services AG. The prospectuses are also available via the website https://www.robeco.com/ch.

Some funds about which information is shown on these pages may fall outside the scope of CISA and therefore do not (need to) have a license from or registration with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

Some funds about which information is shown on this website may not be available in your domicile country. Please check the registration status in your respective domicile country. To view the Robeco Switzerland Ltd. products that are registered/available in your country, please go to the respective Fund Selector, which can be found on this website and select your country of domicile.

Neither information nor any opinion expressed on this website constitutes a solicitation, an offer or a recommendation to buy, sell or dispose of any investment, to engage in any other transaction or to provide any investment advice or service. An investment in a Robeco Switzerland Ltd. product should only be made after reading the related legal documents such as prospectuses, annual and semi-annual reports.

By clicking “I agree” you confirm that you/the company you represent falls under one of the above-mentioned categories of addressees and that you have read, understood and accept the terms of use for this website.

I Disagree

11-10-2023 · Insight

Robeco launches carbon offset share classes

Three Robeco climate investment strategies will offer share classes that use carbon credits to amplify the portfolio’s decarbonization efforts.

    Authors

  • Lucian Peppelenbos - Climate & Biodiversity Strategist

    Lucian Peppelenbos

    Climate & Biodiversity Strategist

Summary

  1. Carbon market can help efforts to meet Paris Agreement warming targets

  2. New share classes contribute to projects developed for climate solutions

  3. Three climate-orientated investment strategies to offer the share classes

The new carbon share classes enable clients to help finance tangible climate solution projects, while at the same time decarbonizing their investments by 7% every year, in line with the net-zero 2050 targets necessary to meet the Paris Agreement.

The carbon credits purchased will be equivalent to the Scope 1 and 2 emissions generated by companies held in Robeco’s Global Climate Credits, QI Global SDG and Climate Conservative Equities, and Net Zero 2050 Climate Equities strategies.

Share classes are a categorization within an equity or fixed income investment strategy that are usually used to denote its currency or hedging policy. They are commonly used by asset managers with international clients operating in different currencies and mandates.

Each of the three investment strategies will offer carbon offset share classes under three different fee structures depending on the client’s needs, making nine in all.

Carbon credit projects

Carbon credits represent a means of removing, reducing or avoiding one metric ton of carbon dioxide (or its equivalent) from being released into the atmosphere. These credits are generated by projects such as reforestation, renewable energy, or carbon capture and storage.

Carbon credits need to follow certain quality standards to be certified and offered on voluntary carbon markets. By buying these credits, organizations help to fund concrete projects that mitigate climate change on the ground.

For Robeco’s portfolios, these include a project to repair leaking gas infrastructure in Bangladesh with the purchase and import of specialized leak detectors along with advanced sealant materials. Local people are being trained in how to check for and fix gas leaks to cut emissions.

Carbon offsetting share classes

Greenwashing risks

Carbon markets are not immune, however, to the risks associated with greenwashing, as they face significant challenges concerning their integrity and reliability. Numerous instances have been recorded of carbon credit projects exaggerating their emissions reduction accomplishments, or even fabricating their results.

This makes it challenging for investors to operate confidently within this space. This criticism is currently being addressed by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, which is working towards better transparency and the setting up of quality standards. Ultimately, anyone buying a credit must take care to ensure that they do what they say they will.

Robeco believes that, in spite of these challenges, carbon markets are vital to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, and that investors have an important role to play in making these markets work.

Meeting the Paris Agreement

“We should not throw away the baby with the bathwater,” says Lucian Peppelenbos, Climate and Biodiversity Strategist at Robeco. “Research shows that carbon markets can halve the costs of implementing the Paris Agreement by directing capital to the most efficient solutions. So we need to make these markets work.”

“To mitigate the risks associated with carbon credits, investors must select high-quality projects and they must follow the mitigation hierarchy. This means firstly decarbonize your own investments, and secondly support climate solutions that help decarbonize the wider economy. The set-up of our carbon share classes offers these safeguards to our clients.”

The wider potential for carbon offsets is discussed in our new white paper, ‘Leveraging carbon markets for climate investing’, in which Peppelenbos explains how carbon markets are organized and how investors can navigate this landscape while effectively mitigating the risks.