Energy Insiders - a RenewEconomy Podcast Where the bloody hell is our super?
Nov 13, 2025
Jeremy Cooper, former Deputy Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, shares insightful commentary on Australia's superannuation system. He highlights the alarming scarcity of clean energy investments from the $4 trillion super fund pool and discusses the structural barriers at play. Cooper proposes a shadow carbon price to encourage responsible investment choices and contrasts Australia’s slow decarbonisation with other regions. He emphasizes the need for better governance and accountability to align superannuation with sustainable outcomes for future generations.
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Incentives Drive Super Funds’ Conservative Choices
- Super funds prioritize risk-adjusted returns and league-table performance, which shapes investment choices.
- Those incentives discourage large, patient investments in Australian clean energy despite large capital pools.
Super Funds Concentrating And Internalising Assets
- Top Australian super funds are concentrating into a small number of very large players controlling most flows.
- Funds have internalised investment capabilities and increasingly do large unlisted asset deals themselves.
Most New Super Dollars Go Offshore
- Most marginal contributions are being invested offshore, with about 70% of the marginal dollar leaving Australia.
- That trend risks starving domestic decarbonisation projects of capital unless policy or incentives shift.