We are increasingly frustrated watching Australia's environmental transition unfold. Not because projects are failing to appear, but because so many of the investors stepping forward to finance and own them are based overseas. Our wind, sunshine, land and electricity customers are creating opportunities, yet Australians risk becoming spectators in an economy being rebuilt around us.
This is not an argument against foreign capital. We need it. It is a question of why more Australian investors are not participating alongside it, especially when the transition is already attracting extraordinary sums of money. We would hate to be burdened with lament 20 years from now, knowing we could have done something.
COP31: An Expensive Talkfest With an Investment Message
COP31 is underway in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November. Reports say there will be around 100,000 attendees expected, the event is an extraordinary gathering of governments, institutions and businesses. Yes, it is another talkfest, and we suspect plenty of investors are tired of the speeches.
But consider what is being spent simply to hold the conversation. Turkish reports puts COP31-related contracts at more than 25.1 billion Turkish lira (~AUD$730 million), including 14.7 billion (~ AUD$430 million) for temporary structures and operations and 8.085 billion (~AUD$300) for the main event area. This amount does not capture the total cost which includes security, air travel, accommodation and private events.
Now look beyond the conference. The International Energy Agency forecasts US$3.4 trillion of global energy investment in 2026, including US$2.2 trillion in clean-energy technologies and infrastructure. Grid investment is approaching US$550 billion and battery storage is expected to exceed US$100 billion (1).
We understand that conference expenditure does not guarantee investment returns. But when the world spends so much debating the transition while trillions are being deployed to deliver it, how can investors possibly continue treating the opportunity as a fringe consideration?
Australian Projects, Foreign Owners
Consider Hazelwood in Victoria. On 16 October, French energy company ENGIE reached financial close on a further 150 MW and 300 MWh of battery storage at the former coal-fired power station. Having acquired its former partner's stake, ENGIE owns the existing battery outright. The transformation of a landmark Australian coal site into energy storage is being driven by a French multinational (2).
Then there is Golden Plains. On 27 October, RenewEconomy reported that UK-based Octopus Investments had agreed to acquire the 577 MW second stage of Victoria's giant wind farm for more than A$2 billion from Portugal-headquartered TagEnergy. The parties had not publicly confirmed the deal, so it remains a reported transaction rather than a completed sale (3).
Even allowing for that qualification, the potential ownership story is extraordinary. Australian land and wind, Australian electricity customers, a Portuguese-headquartered developer and a prospective British buyer backed by international investors.
The pattern continued on 4 November, when Victoria approved nearly A$4 billion of proposed wind and battery developments. Projects included a battery from Danish-founded European Energy, another from Potentia Energy, owned by Italian and Japanese energy groups, and a wind-and-storage development from Belgium's Virya. Approvals are not final investment decisions or evidence that all that capital has been committed, but the nationality of the developers is difficult to overlook (4).
Now we all know that data centres are on the minds of investors. Well on 12 November, European Energy also announced an exclusivity agreement with AirTrunk covering proposed solar, wind and storage in the Hunter. The projects remain at an early stage, with approvals and financing still to come. AirTrunk itself was acquired by a consortium led by US investment group Blackstone and Canada's CPP Investments (5). International capital is present on both sides of the prospective transaction.
Where Is Australia's Retirement Capital?
Our frustration is not based on anecdotes alone. Market Forces examined A$99 billion in identified investment activity across 514 Australian renewable and battery projects since 2020. Our 30 largest superannuation funds contributed just A$771 million in identifiable direct investment. That is 0.8 per cent of the project finance and acquisition activity studied, and around 0.03 per cent of those funds' A$2.5 trillion in assets. Canadian pension funds contributed A$1.2 billion (6).
There is a necessary qualification. Australian super funds do invest indirectly through infrastructure vehicles and external managers, but the size of that exposure cannot be reliably established from available disclosures. Six of the 30 were identified as having invested directly. So this is not a claim that Australians have no exposure. It is evidence of how limited identifiable direct participation has been.
Every Portfolio Should Ask the Question
Not every battery will make money, not every project will reach construction and not every environmental technology will survive. Development, valuation, electricity-price, technology and liquidity risks are real. An environmental label is not an investment thesis.
But nor is avoiding the entire theme a neutral decision. We believe every diversified portfolio should consider whether it has appropriate exposure to what is shaping tomorrow's economy. The answer will differ between investors, but the question deserves to be asked.
This is part of why we established the EnviroInvest Investment Fund. It is designed to provide access to diversified portfolio of environmentally conscious investments, across listed and unlisted assets, infrastructure, debt and environmental markets, all through one Australian wholesale fund.
It may not be suitable for everyone: the minimum investment is A$100,000, fees apply and liquidity is restricted, including an initial 12-month lock-up. Investors should consider the Information Memorandum and the risks before investing. But what is undeniable is the long-term general direction on this theme. A theme that as investors we are grossly underexposed in.
The Final Word
Foreign investors are not wrong to recognise the opportunity in Australia's transition. We welcome their confidence and their capital.
What we find dispiriting is the prospect of Australians looking back in a decade at infrastructure built on our land, using our resources, servicing our economy, and wondering why we did not seek a greater share in its ownership.
The future is being built here. Surely Australians should have more than a front-row seat.
References
(1) International Energy Agency, World Energy Investment 2026, 28 May 2026. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-investment-2026
(2) ENGIE, ENGIE Reaches Financial Close on Hazelwood Battery Expansion, 16 October 2026. https://engie.com.au/media-news/engie-reaches-financial-close-on-hazelwood-battery-expansion
(3) Parkinson G, Second Stage of Australia's Biggest Wind Farm Reportedly Sold for $2 Billion, RenewEconomy, 27 October 2026. https://reneweconomy.com.au/second-stage-of-australias-biggest-wind-farm-reportedly-sold-for-2-billion/
(4) Williamson R, State Approves Six New Wind and Battery Projects Before Going Into Election Caretaker Mode, RenewEconomy, 4 November 2026. https://reneweconomy.com.au/state-approves-six-new-wind-and-battery-projects-before-going-into-election-caretaker-mode/
(5) AirTrunk, AirTrunk and European Energy Australia Advance Greater Than 1 Gigawatt Hunter Renewables and Storage Partnership, 12 November 2026. https://airtrunk.com/airtrunk-and-european-energy-australia-advance-1-gigawatt-hunter-renewables-and-storage-partnership/
(6) Market Forces, Passing the Buck: How Super Funds Are Missing a Critical Opportunity to Back Australia's Clean Energy Transition, June 2026. https://www.marketforces.org.au/campaigns/super/passing-the-buck/
Important Information
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