NYC Comptroller Mark Levine Proposes Expansion in Private Markets Climate Investments to Advance Systems’ Climate Goals

NYC Comptroller Mark Levine Proposes Expansion in Private Markets Climate Investments to Advance Systems' Climate Goals

New York, NY - During his first Climate Week as New York City Comptroller, Comptroller Mark Levine announced that he is recommending a strategic expansion in private markets climate solutions investments for three of the City's public pension funds. The Comptroller's Office's Bureau of Asset Management expects to present a total of $5 billion in new private market investment opportunities to the boards of the New York City Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) and Board of Education Retirement System (BERS) and their respective investment consultants.

The proposal is underscored by the magnitude of the energy transition investment opportunity and the need to accelerate the pace at which the Systems aim to achieve their climate goals.

These private market opportunities will be focused on areas including renewable power generation, grid modernization, energy efficiency and storage, clean transportation, and building decarbonization, as well as technologies that can reduce pollution, strengthen energy and water security, and improve resilience to extreme weather. As rising energy prices, geopolitical uncertainty, and growing energy demand puts renewed pressure on energy costs, the demand for more reliable and resilient energy infrastructure will only increase, presenting attractive investment opportunities for these three Systems.

"Our pension systems have a responsibility to make sound investment decisions that preserve and grow the retirement assets that our pensioners depend on," said New York City Comptroller Mark Levine. "As the climate crisis places a growing strain on our infrastructure and the broader economy, investing in cleaner, more reliable and resilient energy that can lower costs and reduce emissions at the same time is an essential part of our prudent long-term investment strategy."

Clean Energy as a Global Investment Trend

The global clean energy transition is creating a large and growing investment market. More than $2.3 trillion was invested globally in the energy transition in 2025, with an additional $320 billion flowing toward renewable energy alone in the first half of this year.

Demand for new power is also accelerating. Growth in artificial intelligence and data centers, manufacturing reshoring, transportation electrification and other industries, is expected to drive a 40% increase in U.S. demand by 2040. Globally, energy security concerns also enhance governments' interest in moving away from imported fossil fuel and toward renewable energy. Renewable energy and battery storage are increasingly cost-competitive and are expected to account for an estimated 93% of new U.S. power capacity added this year.

That growth comes as households face rising costs and extreme weather puts greater strain on aging infrastructure. Household electricity bills rose an average of 33% nationally between August 2021 and August 2026, while customers in New York City saw bills increase 47.6% between July 2021 and July 2026.

Federally, a lack of leadership has stalled critical progress for the clean energy transition. A recent analysis found that 223 ⁠manufacturing and clean ⁠energy projects, representing $82.9 billion in investment and 111,765 jobs have stalled or ​been cancelled across the U.S. during the current federal administration.

Today's announcement will support each board in their goals to further deploy renewables, storage, and other energy solutions and help drive down their costs through economies of scale, which strengthens energy security, improves affordability and resiliency, and reduces emissions.

Building on the Pension Systems' Climate Solutions Investment Strategy

Going forward, investment opportunities will be presented to each pension board for consideration and approval, subject to each of the three Systems' independent due-diligence and fiduciary review processes.

The past progress on climate solutions investments has mostly come from the appreciation of technology stocks in the passive portfolios. The focus on private markets enhances the real-world impact of the three Systems' strategy of climate solutions investments, while taking advantage of the macrotrend in the energy transition and renewables' critical role in the transition. Climate solutions investing is a pillar in each System's Net Zero Implementation Plans, alongside efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of their portfolios and engage with portfolio companies and asset managers on decarbonization.

The Net Zero implementation plans have a goal of investing $37.8 billion by 2035 and the private market proactive climate investing strategy is a step toward meeting that goal.

Earlier this year, NYCERS, TRS, and BERS committed $116 million in Sandbrook Climate Infrastructure Fund II, marking the first private markets climate-focused investment during Comptroller Levine's term.

Related Reports
NYCERS FY2025 Annual Climate Report
TRS FY2025 Annual Climate Report
BERS FY2025 Annual Climate Report
Meeting New York City's Energy Demand Challenge

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