The infrastructure revolution: a climate risk

An analysis of five leading private infrastructure firms—Macquarie Asset Management, Global Infrastructure Partners, Stonepeak, IFM Investors, and I Squared Capital—reveals a total lack of sectoral policies to prevent investment in fossil fuel expansion. Despite the sector's growth, with global assets under management surpassing US$1 trillion in 2023, these firms continue to invest heavily in midstream infrastructure and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, posing a risk to the global carbon budget.

• Global private infrastructure assets under management grew six-fold between 2008 and 2023, surpassing US$1 trillion. The 'energy and environment' sector is the primary driver of this growth, accounting for 45% of total deal value from 2018 to 2023.
• An analysis of five major private infrastructure firms—Macquarie Asset Management, Global Infrastructure Partners, Stonepeak, IFM Investors, and I Squared Capital—found that none have sectoral policies to prevent investments in the expansion of the fossil fuel sector, including coal or upstream and midstream oil and gas infrastructure.
• While the five analyzed firms claim to engage with polluting portfolio companies, they lack credible strategies to encourage these companies to transition away from fossil fuels. These firms collectively own or co-own at least 45 companies in the fossil fuel sector.
• The analyzed firms are heavily invested in liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure. Specific examples include Global Infrastructure Partners' investment in the Rio Grande LNG terminal (US) and Gladstone LNG project (Australia); IFM Investors' backing of the Freeport LNG terminal (US) and proposed Zeeland Energy LNG terminal (Netherlands); and I Squared Capital's support for the Calcasieu Pass, Plaquemines, and CP2 LNG terminals in the US. Additionally, Stonepeak's portfolio company, Seapeak, manages approximately 10% of global seaborne natural gas transportation.

APA

Martin, L. (2024). The infrastructure revolution: a climate risk. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/07/09/the-infrastructure-revolution-a-climate-risk/

Chicago

Martin, Léo. The infrastructure revolution: a climate risk. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/07/09/the-infrastructure-revolution-a-climate-risk/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martin |first1=Léo |title=The infrastructure revolution: a climate risk |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=9 July 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/07/09/the-infrastructure-revolution-a-climate-risk/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martin2024infrastructure, author = {Martin, Léo}, title = {{The infrastructure revolution: a climate risk}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/07/09/the-infrastructure-revolution-a-climate-risk/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }