KIC Discusses Green Technology Investment Strategies with Pension Funds and Public Institutions

At the 4th ESG Day, Future Growth Industries Such as Climate Crisis Response and Cleantech Discussed

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Domestic public sector overseas investment officers and ESG stakeholders gathered in one place to discuss green technology investment strategies. Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) announced that on the afternoon of the 9th, it held the 4th 'KIC ESG Day' at its headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, inviting domestic and international experts to discuss green technology and related investment cases.

Since 2019, KIC has held the 'KIC ESG Day' annually to share global ESG investment strategies with domestic public sector institutional investors. At this year's 4th ESG Day, sessions included the 'Global Decarbonization Pathway' presentation by KIC's Responsible Investment Team, 'Climate Crisis and Green (Climate) Technology' by the Green Technology Center, and 'Green (Climate) Technology Investment and Cases' by Fifth Wall, a climate venture capital firm.

In his opening remarks, President Jin Seungho emphasized, “Green technology is rapidly advancing across various fields, from new technologies such as green hydrogen production and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) to real estate sectors like green buildings,” adding, “Investment in green technology is an essential element for achieving net zero and will be a major focus of responsible investment going forward.”

He continued, “KIC recently completed its membership in the UN PRI, the world's largest responsible investment initiative, and will continue to steadily promote ESG investment,” and expressed hope that “sharing the latest trends and investment cases in green technology will provide a valuable opportunity to inform future investment directions.”

Choi Jinseok, head of KIC’s Responsible Investment Team, who presented at the event, highlighted that “the transition to decarbonization involves enormous economic and social costs in the short term but is shifting into a leadership competition among major economies,” emphasizing the rapid growth prospects of related industries and technologies.

Following this, Senior Researcher Han Suhyun of the Green Technology Center stated, “Not only Korea but also major countries such as the United States, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom have set carbon neutrality goals alongside green technology development plans, fostering key technologies like hydrogen, offshore wind power, and bioenergy,” adding, “Technological realizations for net zero continue, including small modular reactors (SMRs) known as next-generation nuclear power, zero-carbon energy production using hydrogen and ammonia in existing thermal power facilities, and hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology that produces steel using hydrogen instead of coke.”

Meanwhile, Andriy Mykhaylovskyy, Managing Partner of Fifth Wall, said, “Following the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), climate-related investments totaling $369 billion are anticipated within the United States alone,” and noted, “We invest in companies expected to grow by leveraging various green technology themes such as the use of eco-friendly building materials, green hydrogen production, and energy efficiency improvements.”

Green technology, also called climate technology or CleanTech, refers to technologies that minimize greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions by efficiently using energy and resources in social and economic activities such as greenhouse gas reduction, clean energy, and resource circulation. It is a field undergoing diverse development and utilization recently and is considered a future growth industry. KIC plans to continue conducting ESG research considering the characteristics of asset classes and ESG trends, including green technology, renewable energy, and impact investment, and to develop various strategies based on this research to promote investments.