Federal progress to mitigate climate change has stalled. In March, President Trump signed an executive order to unravel Obama-era climate change policies, lifting restrictions on energy companies and emissions standards for power plants. The administration will soon decide whether to uphold campaign pledges to exit the Paris Climate Accord.

However, amidst federal policy chaos, other institutional investors such as college and foundation endowments have the latitude to address material risks associated with climate change. And for public pension plans, addressing climate risk isn’t an act of goodwill — it’s their fiduciary duty.

Let me explain why. Sustainability issues such as climate change increasingly affect the financial performance of companies, and thus have the attention of most institutional investors. In a 2015 CFA Institute survey, 73 percent of institutional investors indicated that they take environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues into account in their investment decisions to help manage investment risks. And 89 percent of the world’s top 100 asset managers are signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), committing to incorporate ESG issues into their investment decision-making.

Full Content: The Hill

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