March 2022

SEC proposes climate-related disclosures for public companies

US. SEC proposes climate-related disclosures for public companies

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday proposed rule amendments to require public companies to disclose climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions. The commission approved the rule amendments in a 3-1 vote, with its lone Republican, Hester M. Peirce, dissenting. Under the proposal, public companies would be required to disclose a host of climate-related information in their registration statements and periodic reports, including: The oversight and governance of climate-related risks by the registrant's board and management. How any climate-related risks identified...

UK. Pension schemes to tackle deforestation in climate push

UK. Pension schemes to tackle deforestation in climate push

Pension schemes in the UK will be expected to do more to tackle deforestation as part of the government’s climate policies, pensions minister Guy Opperman has warned. Writing in Responsible Investor with Lord Goldsmith, minister for the Pacific and the international environment, Opperman said that because “forests and land use are a significant source of carbon emissions”, any action on climate change “will need to take deforestation into account”. “During our COP26 presidency, we are putting forests front and centre of...

Engagement essential for schemes to turn the tide on plastic waste

Engagement essential for schemes to turn the tide on plastic waste

The role pension schemes play in overcoming plastic pollution is multifaceted, and communicating it with members only adds another layer of complexity, experts warn. Read also Global Pension Asset Values Grow to Record $56 Trillion in 2021 The transition to net zero requires a multifaceted approach over how we use non-renewable materials. Up to 12.7mn tonnes of plastic enter the oceans each year causing damage to marine life and ecosystems, according to the journal Science, and while the scale of the...

Mainstreaming the Trasition to a Net-Zero Economy

Mainstreaming the Trasition to a Net-Zero Economy

By Group of Thirty The evidence that climate change is posing unprecedented risks to our livelihoods is overwhelming. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) have reached the highest levels in 800,000 years. Over the last three decades, the number of registered severe weather events has tripled. The cost of weather-related insurance losses has increased eightfold over the past decade, to an average of US$60 billion; and average uninsured losses from weather events have increased sevenfold. Still, these effects pale in significance...

El cambio climático y la diversidad

Climate change and diversity remain biggest concerns for investors ahead of AGM season

Climate change and diversity will be the most pressing issues for investment managers during this year’s AGM season, according to the new expectations on companies issued by the Investment Association (IA). With climate change presenting “one of the biggest risks to the long-term sustainability of a company”, investment managers will be looking for businesses to take immediate action, the IA reported, explaining how climate change will impact them and how they are mitigating the risk. IA encouraged firms to disclose their...

US. NYPD pension fund to divest $42M of Russian-issued securities investments

New York City’s Police Pension fund will divest its securities investments issued by Russian companies, following a slew of state and federal sanctions boycotting Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine. The fund’s trustees – which include Mayor Eric Adams, city Comptroller Brad Lander and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell – voted Tuesday directing the comptroller to divest $42.2 million following a review of its public equity and fixed income investments in Russian businesses. Trustees wrote in the resolution passed that they’re “concerned...

February 2022

From human rights to recycling bins: how can you define ‘ethical investing’?

Companies are facing increasing consumer and shareholder pressure to ensure the investments they make are ethical. But how do they define what’s ethical? Broadly, ethical investment is on the rise. According to the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), about $1tn of the $2.24tn in managed funds is classified as responsible. That’s not just because Australians are becoming more aware of the impact their investments can have, but also because responsible or ethical investment is really starting to pay. Sustainable, environmentally...

Dutch pension fund PFZW to end investment in some fossil fuel companies

PFZW, the Dutch health care workers' pension fund, on Wednesday said it would disinvest from any fossil fuel company by 2024 that doesn't have a "convincing and verifiable" strategy to reach the goals laid out in the Paris Climate Change agreement. The decision by PFZW, with 278 billion euros ($316 billion) in assets, follows similar moves by other asset managers to overhaul the way they invest as part of a global efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Some have...

Canada’s largest pension fund CPPIB takes engagement approach to net-zero

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, better known as CPP Investments or CPPIB, announced net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals by 2050 through a decarbonisation approach focused on influencing transition within high-emitting sectors as opposed to divestment. Read also US. Pension plans increasing their focus on allocating to diverse asset managers The plan also includes increasing its investments into green and transition assets from $67 billion to $130 billion by 2030 and a carbon neutrality goal by the end of the...

UK. Force pension funds to align with net zero goal, says Richard Curtis

Pension funds should face legal obligations to bring their investments in line with the net zero greenhouse gas emissions goal, the film-maker Richard Curtis has said. Curtis, a co-founder of the Make My Money Matter campaigning group, urged ministers to follow up the UK’s legal commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050 by making it mandatory for pension schemes to align their portfolios with the target. He told the Guardian: “The moment has arrived. Why not invest in sustainable investments?...