AllianceBernstein's partnership with Walk Free, an initiative of Minderoo Foundation, looks at the links between climate change, the clean energy transition and increased vulnerability to human trafficking and modern slavery - and wins it Insurance Asset Risk's Stewardship Initiative of the Year award.

In its report with Walk Free, Bridging ESG Silos: The Intersection of Climate Change and Modern Slavery, AllianceBernstein charted the ways the impacts of climate change adversely affect a wide range of human rights, including the risk of modern-day slavery.

It found that climate change poses two primary sources of risk to human rights, the first being physical risks, including "sudden onset" events such as storms and bushfires, and gradual long-term changes, or "slow onset" events including drought, desertification, rising sea levels and ocean acidification. People affected by severe weather events can find themselves working in poor job conditions or forced to migrate in search of new work. This increases their susceptibility to human traffickers and can also result in labour exploitation.

The second primary source of risk that climate change poses to human rights is transition risks. The shift from high-carbon fossil fuels to decarbonised, renewable energy sources create two types of transition risk related to the phasing out of fossil fuels and introduction of renewable energy.

AllianceBernstein outlined a systematic approach to identifying climate-related modern slavery risks that investors should take, and what to include in their due diligence.