With 2050 on the horizon and a challenging political and economic environment for companies looking to hit net zero, engagement on climate change is more important than ever.

As part of its new climate and investors focus, Responsible Investor has published a series of articles looking at the future of climate engagement ranging from how climate collaborations are evolving to engagement with hard to abate sectors and how investors are responding to an increasingly challenging environment.

In this episode, senior reporters Dominic Webb and Gina Gambetta discuss their findings and how investors across the world are evolving their approaches to climate stewardship.

Climate engagement has been on investors’ agendas for more than a decade. So what progress has been made in that time? What have we learned about what works and what doesn’t? And, crucially, what does that mean for how we move forward?

To explore these questions, our editor Lucy Fitzgeorge-Parker sat down with sustainability and stewardship veteran Colin Melvin of Arkadiko Partners. As co-author of the Principles for Responsible Investment and founder of engagement specialist Hermes EOS, he has been at the forefront of conversations on climate and corporate action for 20 years.

In this episode, he discusses climate engagement in the era of ESG backlash, the role of fiduciary duty, how to prioritise corporate engagements, and the dangers of separating sustainability from core investment practice.

Over the course of his three years as comptroller of New York City, Brad Lander has guided the city's pension systems in achieving their climate targets, divesting from fossil fuel companies and seeing significant success with shareholder resolutions on a range of topics.

Lander, whose term will end in January, joins The Responsible Investor Podcast to discuss his proudest achievements in office, the future of shareholder proposals and whether he thinks responsible investment can survive Donald Trump's second term.

After declining to run for re-election in order to make a bid for the mayor's office, Lander also discusses what advice he would give to his successor and what he still wants to get done during his remaining time in office.