Enough already, get moving, say global institutional investors that control $6 trillion in assets.
The London Pensions Fund Authority and California Public Employees’ Retirement System are among 130 investors pushing for action to implement national policies for countries around the world to reduce emissions 80% by 2050.
They want countries to sign on to a new binding agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol climate pact, which would set medium and long-term emission reduction targets for developed countries and to provide for an expanded and more liquid global carbon market. Over the past year, they’ve called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission to force publicly traded companies to disclose climate-related risks as they do for financial factors that affect their business.
"As institutional investors, we are concerned with the risks presented by climate change to the global economy and to our diversified portfolios," said Mike Taylor, chief executive of London Pensions Fund Authority, to Reuters.
The United States is alone among major industrialized countries in rejecting the Kyoto Protocol, but is participating in discussions to craft a follow-up global agreement.
"It is time to put an agreement in place where the United States is involved," said Mindy Lubber, the president of Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmental groups working on climate change issues.
Loading...