We’re thrilled to share that Climate Finance Action was recently published in Nonprofit Quarterly (NPQ)! The article explores the power of public pensions to drive real-world climate solutions and we’re honored to have our perspective featured in a platform that reaches so many change makers.

Private and public equity are vastly different regarding access, strategy, and regulation. But how do private and public equity relate to the role of public pension funds, and why is it important to think about both in the context of climate change? Let's explore this by using an analogy that clarifies the distinction: the exclusive club versus the community pool.

Public pension funds play a critical role in protecting the financial stability of millions of workers and their families, safeguarding their investments against emerging risks, and preserving long-term value. One of the most pressing and undeniable risks is climate change. Explore six changes that CFA recommends public pension funds pursue to  secure long-term value for workers and beneficiaries while protecting them from the effects of climate change.

Narrative strategies help shape how issues are understood and acted upon and can empower unions to take bold action. For union leaders and members, crafting a compelling narrative is key to mobilizing support for climate-resilient policies, including worker safety and holding corporations and governments accountable.

Asset owners and managers are key players in the public pension system. Although these roles are often confused, understanding their differences is essential for effectively integrating climate action into investment strategies. Let's use an analogy to break down the definitions and explore why this is important for the public pension system and responsible investing.

With increasing federal and state-level challenges to responsible investing, pension funds must proactively defend their fiduciary duty and investment strategies. As regulatory oversight weakens and political attacks escalate, funds that fail to solidify their policies and engagement strategies risk losing control over their ability to manage long-term financial risks, particularly those tied to climate change. Keep reading to discover actionable strategies to ensure funds remain resilient and advance responsible investment practices despite shifting policies.

As 2025 unfolds, state pension funds face an increasingly hostile federal policy environment that threatens responsible investing and fiduciary stewardship. From regulatory rollbacks to politically motivated attacks on proxy voting and ESG policies, pension stakeholders must prepare for new risks that could undermine their ability to safeguard long-term financial stability. This post breaks down the key federal or national-level threats underway as of February 18, 2025.

Workers—who contribute to and rely on these pension funds—deserve a stronger voice in how their retirement savings are invested. They are not just beneficiaries but stakeholders with a vested interest in ensuring that their pensions are protected from climate-related financial instability. However, they often find themselves excluded from key investment and stewardship decisions due to governance structures that concentrate power among financial professionals and policymakers.

Like a thriving garden, a well-managed pension system requires a healthy foundation and effective day-to-day care. For funds to remain sustainable and effective, decision-makers must tackle systemic risks, like corporate accountability and the climate crisis, and reconcile process issues by adopting systematic investment strategies to make informed decisions.

When it comes to managing investments, two concepts often come into play: value investing and investing your values. While these approaches may seem worlds apart, they both offer unique strategies for creating long-term financial growth. Understanding how they work and how they relate to the future of pension funds can help trustees make more thoughtful, informed decisions that prioritize both financial security and social responsibility.

Disinformation is a challenge, but understanding its goals and pitfalls can help you effectively combat it and keep the focus on advancing sustainable and equitable solutions.

Investing strategies often fall into two categories: active and passive. While each has its merits, understanding the differences between these approaches can shed light on how investments impact broader issues—including climate change and the public pension system.

Modern slavery, a term encompassing debt bondage, human trafficking, child and forced labor, is a significant and growing problem within global supply chains. These chains, which involve multiple layers of workers, including contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers, can be incredibly efficient and profitable. However, they are often driven by unseen or overlooked forced labor due to high demand, labor-intensive processes, and limited oversight.

The fundamental priority of fiduciary duty in the pension system is clear: ensuring pensions are paid to members for a secure dignified retirement. As pension funds grow, so does their responsibility to safeguard the financial security of millions of workers. However, fulfilling this fiduciary duty extends beyond wealth accumulation—it involves managing investments wisely, with an eye toward long-term economic stability for members by integrating climate accountability into their policies and investment strategies.

With a steady increase in cleantech investments come technological advancements and opportunities to generate new jobs in research and development, installation, maintenance, and other areas. Energy jobs, in particular, tend to pay higher wages than the national average, making cleantech a significant avenue for economic growth. Recently, the industry has seen regional success with about one-third of clean energy jobs in Texas and California, Georgia, leading the country in planned jobs around cleantech, and available clean energy jobs in Minnesota growing nearly five times faster than the state's overall job numbers, illustrating the potential of the green economy to drive rapid job creation.

On November 7, 2024, at MassChallenge in Boston, authors Suchi Gopal and Josh Pitts launched their groundbreaking book, The Fintech Revolution: Bridging Geospatial Data Science, AI, and Sustainability, published by Springer. The event brought together leading voices in finance and technology, featuring a panel discussion with three distinguished experts who explored the book’s central themes and the transformative power of cutting-edge technologies.

Systemic risks are especially dangerous for pension funds, which rely on long-term stability to ensure workers' financial security during retirement. A sudden market shock can undermine years of careful investment planning, destabilizing the fund and jeopardizing millions of workers' retirement security. A primary source of systemic risk is climate change, which poses escalating threats. Climate-related events—such as extreme weather and environmental degradation—destabilize financial markets, disrupt essential systems like supply chains, infrastructure and housing, and jeopardize community health.

Rising temperatures, biological hazards and toxins, and extreme weather events are causing long-term health issues, such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, heat-related illnesses, and trauma-related conditions. Non-disabled workers in high-risk jobs are increasingly exposed to these hazards, leading to a growing population of climate-affected disabled workers.

Climate Finance Action (CFA) has curated essential resources that provide in-depth insights into responsible investment and climate finance to address this need. These resources clarify the most effective ways to implement ESG criteria, integrate climate risk management into decision-making, and understand how values-aligned investing can influence corporate behavior and foster resilience against climate risks.

At its core, mobilizing public capital means leveraging the financial power of these funds to fuel real change. Investing in clean energy and climate resilience can drive positive social and environmental outcomes and build a more equitable economy, filling critical gaps left by private investments. Additionally, public capital can encourage corporate accountability, promoting improved governance standards.