Global leaders and policymakers came together at the UN COP26 conference with the task of making the Paris climate goals, negotiated in 2015, a reality.
Impax is a strong advocate of collaboration between the policy and investment communities. As such we sent a delegation to the host city of Glasgow, where Ian Simm, founder and chief executive, and Chris Dodwell, head of policy and advocacy, participated in policy debates.
We have been sharing our written perspectives here during COP26, and we will continue to in the aftermath of the global climate summit.

Insights from COP26
Key outcomes and implications for investors.

COP26: Key outcomes and implications for investors
We believe COP26 has renewed confidence in an accelerated transition towards net zero

Foundations for global net zero: An investor’s reflections on COP26
With the UN COP26 climate summit now behind us, it’s time to assess what has changed and, crucially, what should happen next.

Impax calls for policy roadmaps towards net-zero

COP26: Our Call for Action
In this short film (6 mins) shown at COP26, Chris Dodwell articulates the actions that we believe governments, companies and finance should take to accelerate progress towards global net zero.

Backing natural solutions to the climate challenge
Environmental degradation has brought us close to irreversible tipping points for nature.

Greening the real economy: An investor’s perspective on COP26

The countdown to COP26
As the UN climate summit approaches, we reflect on action that we advocate to get on track for global net zero
Our people at COP26

Ian Simm
Ian Simm is the Founder and Chief Executive of Impax Asset Management Group plc, one of the world’s leading investment managers dedicated to investing in the transition to a more sustainable economy. Prior to Impax, Ian was an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company advising clients on environmental strategy.
Outside Impax, Ian is a member of the UK government’s Net Zero Innovation Board, which provides strategic oversight of public sector funding of energy innovation programmes, and is a board member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the European membership body for investor collaboration on addressing climate change. He is also a commissioner with the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of leaders developing transition roadmaps to achieve net-zero emissions. Between 2013 and 2018, he was a board member of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the UK’s leading funding agency for environmental science. He supports charities in the clean energy, healthcare and a range of scientific and environmental sectors.
Ian has a first-class honours degree in physics from Cambridge University and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University. In the last century he initiated and led an expedition to complete the first summer crossing of the Sahara Desert by tandem bicycle.
Recent Insights
Why market turmoil and war in Ukraine will not derail the sustainable transition
Rising inflation and tightening monetary policy have hit global equities, but forces driving the shift towards a sustainable economy remain strong
Just too complex? Addressing biodiversity loss and the role of investors
Given nature’s critical role in underpinning our health and prosperity, there is no time to waste in reversing its destruction.
Insights from COP26
Key outcomes and implications for investors.

Chris Dodwell
Chris is a climate change and environmental policy expert with over 25 years’ public and private sector experience. He is responsible for managing Impax’s engagement in the development of policy issues and providing insights on policy to the firm’s investment teams.
Before joining Impax in 2019 Chris worked at Ricardo Energy & Environment for eight years as Director of Climate Change, Clean Growth and Strategic Partnerships. Here he was responsible for overseeing key projects in the aforementioned areas as well as building relationships with clients in the public and financial services sectors. Prior to this he worked for 10 years at the heart of the UK Government’s work on climate change, including leading the UK’s implementation of the EU Emissions Trading System and heading the UK Delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Chris began his career as a solicitor at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer where he worked on a variety of civil, criminal and public law litigation relating to the impact of pollution on the environment and human health.
Chris graduated with a BA Hons in Classics from the University of Cambridge in 1990 and later went on to achieve a Master of Laws in Environmental Law from University College London in 2002.
Recent Insights
Just too complex? Addressing biodiversity loss and the role of investors
Given nature’s critical role in underpinning our health and prosperity, there is no time to waste in reversing its destruction.
Insights from COP26
Key outcomes and implications for investors.
Outlook 2022: The journey towards a sustainable economy takes flight
From ambitious climate pledges to inflationary and supply chain pressures, here are the key themes that we believe will shape global markets over the coming year.
Our thinking on climate finance

Responding to climate change – the “net-zero aligned” financial institution
Against a backdrop of rising pressure to respond to climate change, financial institutions, including asset owners and asset managers, (“FIs”) are facing calls to declare themselves as net zero (“NZ”).

Corporate net zero: we need a more sophisticated approach
The private sector holds the key to decarbonising the economy over the next quarter century.

Making green taxonomies less taxing: lessons from the last 20 years
As politicians unveil new environmental policies and business leaders seek recognition for their latest low-carbon commitments, others are wrestling with what “green” actually means.

Physical Climate Risks
Designing a resilient response to the inevitable impact of climate change

Clean Investment Roadmaps: A framework for building clean energy economies
This framework offers a blueprint for the enhanced collaboration between policy and investment communities that will be needed if we are to deliver the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.
Our partners at COP26
We are proud members and supporters of several organisations participating at the summit including:

Events
Public-Private Partnerships as the building blocks for action on Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
8 November 2021
Panel discussion with Impax CEO Ian Simm at the Sustainable Innovation Forum at COP26
Economist Sustainability Week: Countdown to COP
4 October 2021
Chris Dodwell discussed actions that governments, finance and corporates need to take to get on track for global net zero
CleanTechIQ: Climate Forum
15 September 2021
Ian Simm and Julie Gorte shared insights regarding climate risk and net zero, as well as investor expectations for COP26
Impax Climate Symposium
29 June 2021
Our global event featured panel sessions focused on the opportunities and risks for investors around energy, water, and net zero