How Will Australian Superannuation Portfolios Reach Net Zero?

Lopata, Donna

How Will Australian Superannuation Portfolios Reach Net Zero?

Lopata, Donna

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2025

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Lopata, Donna
dc.date.accessioned	2025-10-21T04:03:30Z
dc.date.available	2025-10-21T04:03:30Z
dc.date.issued	2025
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190536
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Institute for Sustainable Futures.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	Most of Australia’s largest superannuation funds have committed to reaching net zero portfolios by 2050. Their ambition aims to protect beneficiary assets from financially material climate risk but is also critical for limiting the impacts of climate change. The context of Australia’s 4.1 trillion AUD superannuation system adds further complexity to the immense challenge of decarbonising diversified global portfolios. This transdisciplinary research intends to support the superannuation sectors’ transition to net zero. Consistent with this theoretical framework, academic and industry knowledge was applied to systems thinking theory to analyse system assumptions and find leverage points for change. Interviews and thematic analysis showed that intent is the most critical leverage point in the system, affecting all facets of net zero implementation. The study also revealed a critical distinction between achieving net zero ‘portfolio emissions’ or net zero ‘planetary emissions’. The thesis argues that the former approach does not fundamentally alter the current state or achieve long-term global sustainability, while the latter requires vast systemic change. This research found that despite Australia’s legislated net zero goal in accordance with the Paris Agreement, that intent has not been consistently applied to superannuation. Current sector legislation is acting as a barrier to implementation, and where sustainable finance policy has been introduced, it is fragmented and has an intermediate level of ambition. Under the current system conditions, most superannuation portfolios will not reach Paris-aligned net zero. By making this disjunction explicit, its implications for climate futures can be better understood at this imperative time of transition. The Australian Government must contextualise net zero intent for the superannuation sector in a way that takes a global view of beneficiaries and limits the impacts of climate change for a sustainable future.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/190536/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2025 Donna Lopata
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	How Will Australian Superannuation Portfolios Reach Net Zero?	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

Most of Australia’s largest superannuation funds have committed to reaching net zero portfolios by 2050. Their ambition aims to protect beneficiary assets from financially material climate risk but is also critical for limiting the impacts of climate change. The context of Australia’s 4.1 trillion AUD superannuation system adds further complexity to the immense challenge of decarbonising diversified global portfolios. This transdisciplinary research intends to support the superannuation sectors’ transition to net zero. Consistent with this theoretical framework, academic and industry knowledge was applied to systems thinking theory to analyse system assumptions and find leverage points for change. Interviews and thematic analysis showed that intent is the most critical leverage point in the system, affecting all facets of net zero implementation. The study also revealed a critical distinction between achieving net zero ‘portfolio emissions’ or net zero ‘planetary emissions’. The thesis argues that the former approach does not fundamentally alter the current state or achieve long-term global sustainability, while the latter requires vast systemic change. This research found that despite Australia’s legislated net zero goal in accordance with the Paris Agreement, that intent has not been consistently applied to superannuation. Current sector legislation is acting as a barrier to implementation, and where sustainable finance policy has been introduced, it is fragmented and has an intermediate level of ambition. Under the current system conditions, most superannuation portfolios will not reach Paris-aligned net zero. By making this disjunction explicit, its implications for climate futures can be better understood at this imperative time of transition. The Australian Government must contextualise net zero intent for the superannuation sector in a way that takes a global view of beneficiaries and limits the impacts of climate change for a sustainable future.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/190536