Responsible investment has moved well beyond principles and pledges. Today’s challenges require practical capability and informed judgement. The RIAA Conference is a must-attend event for finance, sustainability and industry practitioners who want to focus on the key themes for responsible investment in 2026 and what implementation really looks like. Designed as an immersive, hands-on experience, the program focuses on the systems that underpin strong financial performance, and will help you understand how climate, nature, technology, governance and regulation intersect. 

These specially curated companion resources have been recommended by the conference speakers and Altiorem team.

The report argues that adaptation finance through the Adaptation Fund and Green Climate Fund formally prioritises equity, vulnerability and country ownership, but remains constrained by voluntary funding, access barriers and project-based delivery, limiting alignment with Global South priorities.

The report examines weaknesses in urban climate project preparation and argues that stronger coordination between cities, financiers and support organisations could improve coherence, efficiency and project impact. It identifies structural and operational barriers and proposes collaborative reforms to strengthen climate finance delivery.

The report presents an NGFS-aligned framework for assessing physical climate risk in U.S. equities. Using state-level GDP damage projections and sector-specific adjustments, it estimates a roughly 4.0% valuation loss for a U.S. equity benchmark under current policies, highlighting substantial variation across states and sectors.

The paper analyses the European Commission’s proposed “EU Inc.” framework, a harmonised digital-first company structure for EU start-ups and scale-ups. It assesses governance, financing, codetermination, digital registration and cross-border legal integration within existing EU and national company law frameworks.

C40 and Rebel outline how cities can structure urban adaptation projects to attract private finance, using ten case studies. Bankability depends on revenue logic, risk allocation, public de-risking, early financier engagement and credible monitoring.

IPBES assesses links between biodiversity, water, food, health and climate, finding siloed decisions worsen trade-offs. It identifies integrated governance, sustainable consumption, ecosystem restoration and finance reform as response options to support more just and sustainable outcomes.

CCLI’s legal opinion finds Philippine company directors must consider nature-related and biodiversity risks within their fiduciary duties. The report outlines potential legal, disclosure and governance consequences for failing to manage these risks, while also highlighting directors’ obligations to assess nature-related opportunities supporting long-term corporate resilience.

Research across 85 developing countries found climate finance was associated with lower resource-related conflict risk, particularly through reduced water scarcity and greater renewable energy access. The study suggests climate finance may support stability in fragile regions, with stronger effects observed where higher funding levels were directed towards adaptation and social infrastructure.

Impax Asset Management reviews sustainability-driven trends shaping healthcare, highlighting AI-enabled productivity gains, regulatory pressures, and supply chain localisation. The report examines opportunities in healthcare equipment, life sciences and managed care, alongside risks from regulation, product liability, affordability concerns and geopolitical tensions.

Briefing paper outlining AI investment opportunities alongside systemic risks including bias, privacy, workforce disruption and environmental impacts. It highlights governance frameworks, due diligence tools and investor engagement strategies to support responsible AI investment practices and long-term portfolio resilience.

The paper argues that pro-social preferences can offset ambiguity aversion in green finance by acting as a behavioural hedge. Using ambiguity-based investment models, the authors show socially motivated investors may accept uncertain green assets, lowering effective hurdle rates and supporting private capital flows into sustainable projects.

TNFD’s Learning Lab is a free, open-access platform offering self-paced modules on nature-related issues and the TNFD framework. It provides videos, webinars, case studies and practical guidance to help finance and business professionals build capability in nature-related assessment, reporting and decision-making.

Tröger argues corporate governance tools, including stewardship, say-on-climate votes and ESG-linked pay, cannot replace broad climate regulation. Firm-level interventions may trigger “waterbed effects”, shifting emissions rather than reducing them. Carbon pricing or comprehensive emissions caps are presented as more effective.

SAIL (Systems Aware Investing Launchpad) is an AI-enhanced platform developed by TIIP to support institutional investors in implementing system-level investing strategies. It provides tools for strategy development, benchmarking, reporting and collaboration, helping users assess and manage systemic environmental, social and financial risks.

The 2026 Living Wage Dataset by Valuing Impact is a free global database covering 217 countries and eight household scenarios. It uses the Anker and Anker methodology with updated cost-of-living data to estimate living wages for urban and rural households, supporting sustainability, labour practice and supply chain analysis.