Brookfield Closes On $15B Fund Focused On Net-Zero Economy
Brookfield Asset Management closed on a $15B fund that will invest in decarbonization of the global economy via the transformation of carbon-intensive industries — one of which is real estate — and the development and improved accessibility of clean energy sources.
Brookfield has already deployed about $2.5B from the fund, including an investment in a carbon capture and storage developer to fund the rollout of its tech in North American energy and industrial facilities.
The fund has also acquired U.S. and German solar power and battery developers with a combined development pipeline capacity of about 25,000 megawatts and inked a development partnership with a UK battery storage provider for 1,200 MW.
The fund, formally known as the Brookfield Global Transition Fund, was oversubscribed, attracting commitments from more than 100 major investors, according to Toronto-based Brookfield. Investors included public and private pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments and foundations and family offices.
The fund is rolling out at a time of keen investor interest in climate-oriented investment, as part of the wider spectrum of environmental, social and governance investing.
In the first five months of this year, investors added $7.5B to U.S. sustainable funds, including ESG, Reuters reports. In 2021, investors put a record $69.2B of new deposits into such funds.
Mark Carney and Connor Teskey will co-head the new fund. Carney is a Brookfield vice chair and head of transition investing, while Teskey is CEO of Brookfield Renewable.
Currently, Brookfield has a total of $725B in assets under management, including $65B in renewable power businesses. As a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, Brookfield has committed itself to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across all its assets under management by 2050.
