Clear carbon prices could boost private investment, says Blackstone

‘You can take that future liability and turn it into an asset by investing against it now’

Jean Rogers a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone speaks at the Dublin Climate Summit (Jason Clarke)

A carbon tax would boost decarbonisation by improving the business case for rapid investment, a senior leader at global asset management giant Blackstone said on Thursday.

Jean Rogers, head of environmental, social, and corporate governance at the firm, said 90 per cent of the world’s GDP is now covered by a climate commitment but only 20 per cent of the world’s emissions are priced.

“That disparity makes it difficult for investors that have fiduciary duty,” she said, meaning those, like Blackstone, that act on behalf of investors rather than investing their own money.