Al Gore's Generation Investment launches $1.7 billion fund

(Reuters) - An investment group chaired by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday launched a $1.7 billion fund to take minority stakes in private companies focused on what it called a sustainable future.

Generation Investment, co-founded by Gore, said it has $36 billion under management in private- and public-company funds that focus on investments with strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) records.

Investments in private companies by other Generation funds include work management platform Asana, used iPhone and gadget marketplace Back Market and digital freight network Convoy.

Private capital sources have been a focus of many ESG-focused startups, while some fund executives have expressed concerns that assets in private hands can be exempt from disclosure requirements such as on carbon emissions under development by securities regulators.

Generation said that private portfolio companies in its previous Sustainable Solutions Fund III disclose direct and indirect carbon emissions.

(Reporting by Peter Henderson in San Francisco; Editing by Matthew Lewis)