Environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing is far from disappearing, according to Guy Henriques, president of Capital Group’s Europe and Asia client group. Speaking at the Investment Association (IA) Sustainability and Responsible Investment Conference 2025 today (30 April), Henriques acknowledged that ESG funds have faced headwinds. A backlash has occurred influenced by US president Donald Trump.

However, he was keen to stress that this does not reflect the full picture. “There’s a huge diversity of views in the US, and the media doesn’t always reflect that accurately,” he said. Henriques pointed to Capital Group’s own ESG research, now in its fifth year, which shows that 90% of global investors — and 94% of European investors — remain interested in ESG-focused investing.

The firm also has a dedicated ESG team of around 45 people. Despite this continued interest, DWS UK CEO Samantha Alexander said the term “sustainability” has faced increasing criticism. “It’s often seen as too broad,” she said, adding that the industry should start re-evaluating the language it uses.

Hendrik du Toit, CEO of Ninety One, expressed concern that topics such as artificial intelligence are dominating public discourse, while urgent issues like climate change receive comparatively little attention. “Climate change has real victims already,” he said. Still, he welcomed the fact that the current G7 chair, new Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, “understands the existential challenge we face”.

Galina Dimitrova, IA director of investment and capital markets, echoed these sentiments, noting: “Politics is definitely impacting ESG and sustainable investing.” Michael Shanks MP, minister for energy at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, was also in attendance. Shanks added that the UK is in a marathon and a sprint at the same time in regards to net zero but the net zero economy has grown three times faster than the UK economy as a whole. Shanks added that as the chancellor recently said: “net zero is the economic opportunity of the century.”