Tara Irwin, senior ESG analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, points to survey data that reveals the share of investors who view climate change as “extremely important” fell from 42% in 2022 to 33% in 2025 while those calling it “not at all important” rose from 2% to 7%.
The changes seen in Hargreaves Lansdown’s December 2025 Sustainable Investor Survey likely reflects a mix of drivers, Irwin said, including a growing sense that governments and corporates are acting on investors’ behalf, the increasing politicisation of climate, concerns about the cost of the transition and doubts over newer technologies, producing fatigue without reducing the underlying risk.
She points to supporting signals, including 35% of respondents still wanting HL to prioritise climate engagement, recent disruption that forced NatWest Group to pause its AGM, and several major banks, such as Goldman Sachs, HSBC and JPMorgan Chase, softening elements of their climate frameworks, while 76% of the public remain unaware of those rollbacks.
"Attention may be softening, but underlying risks are not, and scrutiny of institutional action is only increasing," Irwin added.
