Financial planners least prepared for climate change: Finsia

Financial planners are the least prepared members of the financial services industry for tackling climate change, according to a Financial Services Institute of Australia (Finsia) and Griffith University business school report.

The report showed that the financial planning sub-sector was seen as least prepared in climate change, largely due to their perceived limited ability to influence products and information.

Meanwhile, brokers and analysts were largely of the view that a slow and steady adaption to climate change is appropriate, believing that other elements of financial services should be driving the climate change response, while fund managers and asset owners have made relatively significant progress to date.

The report calls for effective leadership on transitioning to a low-carbon economy in the midst of the global financial crisis.

It presents a climate change capacity building framework for the Australian financial services industry to assist the industry to become a regional leader in climate change adaption and response.

“Factors that impact the long-term horizon of economic prosperity and, therefore, investment returns, should now be assuming greater prominence in financial modeling and analysis,” Finsia chief executive Dr Martin Fahy said.