StanChart: Transition Investing Appetite is on the Rise
High net worth individuals are showing increasing interest in investing in the transition to a low-carbon economy, according to a Standard Chartered report. However, limited understanding is still acting as a barrier.
Nearly nine-tenths (87 percent) of high net worth individuals (HNWI) are interested in transition investing, according to Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Banking Report 2025.
Transition investing is a subset of sustainable investing that focuses on supporting a shift to a low-carbon economy. The top themes cited include green hydrogen (49 percent), low-emission fuels (47 percent), carbon capture and storage (45 percent), electric vehicles (44 percent), carbon markets (42 percent) and electrification (32 percent).
Major Barriers
Despite the appetite, there are barriers to entry including perception of higher risks (50 percent), lack of benchmarks to compare with other investment products (46 percent) and perception of low returns (44 percent). Overall, only 15 percent of investors were able to fully define the concept of transition investing.
«With the geopolitical and macroeconomic situation evolving rapidly in 2025, some markets and investors have reordered priorities to their climate agenda and sustainable investments,» commented Samir Subberwal, global head, wealth solutions, deposits and mortgages, and chief client officer, wealth and retail banking at Standard Chartered.
«However, a low-carbon transition remains a long-term agenda and many industry players continue to see its importance in the longer run.»
The report was based on a survey of 1,600 HNWIs in eight markets – Hong Kong, India, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.
