NZI Annual Conference 2025: the transition is gaining pace

This year marked an important turning point. For the first time, renewables overtook coal as a key source of global electricity supply in the first half of 2025, according to data by thinktank Ember, illustrating that the global energy transition is rapidly gaining pace. 

At Net Zero Investor's fourth Annual Conference panellists explored how investors can help fund the transition, from private credit and renewable infrastructure to nature-based solutions.

Private credit: flexibility and impact

In an afternoon panel on green private credit, speakers discussed how private markets can deliver measurable impact. Martin Barnewell, head of commercial real estate lending at abrdn Investments, argued that private debt in infrastructure offers some of the strongest potential for real-world outcomes. “Infrastructure debt has the largest potential impact,” he said.

Barnewell went on to highlight why private credit instruments — even beyond infrastructure — can be powerful tools for impact investors. “The great thing about private credit is it’s highly customisable,” he explained, citing the flexibility of financing structures as a key advantage.

Sanjay Joshi, impact and local investing specialist at Hymans Robertson and Barnewell’s fellow panellist, agreed. “Covenants are an under-appreciated tactic in private debt,” he said, pointing to how structuring mechanisms can enhance accountability and impact delivery.

Joshi also introduced delegates to a new acronym: ‘DDR’ — “diversification delivers, don’t forget the debt and ratchets.” He cautioned, however, that ratchets are often misunderstood. “Ratchets, ratchets everywhere but rarely ever driving results,” he warned, noting that while they are increasingly common in financing structures, their ability to produce real impact remains uncertain.

He also reminded investors that impact concentration remains a challenge in the private credit market. “A small number of opportunities have most of the impact,” he observed.

Infrastructure 2.0: the next frontier

Beyond private credit, discussions turned to the next generation of renewable infrastructure. While solar and wind continue to dominate institutional portfolios, speakers encouraged delegates to look beyond the established technologies.

“The growth in the future is going to come from investing in innovation,” said Beverley Gower-Jones, founder and managing partner at Clean Growth Fund. “Traditional offshore wind and solar are well known and understood now. When we look at the next step, such as floating offshore wind, the question is how quickly we can get there.”

Gower-Jones also pointed to another emerging technology: small modular reactors (SMRs). “I think SMRs are part of the long-term solution,” she said.

As the discussion broadened to include energy storage and transmission, panellists underlined the urgency of grid investment. “We are being pushed to think beyond solar and wind farms,” said Cristiana Dochioiu, investment manager for infrastructure and energy investments at Railpen. Railpen’s real assets portfolio includes a joint investment with Alberta Investment Management Corporation in a battery storage platform.

However, long-duration storage remains a sticking point. “Inter-seasonal storage hasn’t been cracked yet,” said Liv Miller, a director at asset manager Quinbrook. Gower-Jones agreed, warning that long-duration technology is still underdeveloped.

Despite these challenges, Miller struck an optimistic tone. “We forget that we, in the UK, are world leaders in renewable energy — and that’s something to be proud of,” she said.

Her optimism was shared by Matteo Millone, senior responsible investment specialist at APG Asset Management. “The exciting thing is that the economics are starting to really make sense,” he said.

Later in the day, Joanna Sharples, chief investment officer for Aon’s DC solutions, echoed that sentiment. “A lot of it comes back to fundamentals and long-term investing,” she remarked.

Investing in nature

Nature-based solutions also featured prominently in the conference discussions. Introducing a panel on the subject, conference chair Lindsey Stewart, director of Institutional Insights at Morningstar set the tone: “Nature-based investment is easy to say but harder to do.”

Steven King, senior vice president at RMS, outlined his firm’s long-term approach. “We are always going back to the fundamentals of the asset class,” said King, who has over two decades of experience in timberland investment strategies. RMS, which operates in the US and Brazil, manages $5.5bn of forestry assets. “Managing natural capital is about managing durability,” he added.

Joe Shamash, investment director at Better Society Capital, outlined the emerging investment universe for nature-based solutions, noting that “the most interesting opportunities are technology-enabled.”

Yet these early-stage ventures face scaling challenges. “It’s a catch-22,” Shamash said. “They need capital to scale, but institutional investors tend to look for investments that are already at scale.”

Jonny Page, director of social impact investment at Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, urged investors to see nature-based solutions as part of thematic investing. Turning to the carbon credit market, he emphasised that “the integrity of the credit is the most important aspect.”

King added that for RMS, carbon credits are “another line item.” Asked about investor confidence in the market, he replied: “How much of a bet are they willing to make on carbon credits? That’s a client-by-client conversation.”