March 2024
08Mar

Aging population to be major driver of future climate-related deaths

Climate change poses profound public health threats to people of all ages. But as the climate changes, the world is facing another public health challenge: aging. The proportion of the world’s population 65 and older is projected to rise from 9% at present to 16% in 2050. As the earth’s temperature becomes more extreme, population aging is expected to substantially amplify future heat- and cold-related deaths, a new study from the Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) shows. According to the study, published...

March 8, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
04Mar

UK. Make My Money Matter publish report analysing leading pension providers’ action on climate change

A recent report by Make My Money Matter sheds light on the relationship between finance and environmental stewardship, revealing both the potential and the shortcomings of our pension investments. The UK Pensions: Climate Action Report highlights the stark reality that while many of us contribute to pensions, few of us truly understand where our money goes and the consequences of it. Often, out of the £3 trillion that exists in UK pensions, this money is financing industries that perpetuate environmental...

March 4, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
01Mar

Pension funds’ role in Brazil’s farmland controversy

Global pension funds are implicated in the deforestation of Brazil's Cerrado, impacting local communities and climate goals. In short: Armed men, allegedly hired by land claimants, have forcibly displaced local communities in Brazil's Cerrado, destroying homes and livelihoods. Major global pension funds, including TIAA, have invested billions in Brazilian farmland, contributing to deforestation and land conflicts. The destruction of the Cerrado, a key carbon sink and biodiversity hotspot, poses significant challenges to Brazil's climate commitments and local ecosystems. Key quote: “There’s a...

March 1, 2024
News, ,
Read more...

February 2024
28Feb

EU. Sustainability and greenwashing in insurance – EIOPA publishes draft Opinion

Insurance consumers and pensions savers are increasingly interested in allocating their money to sustainability related products. So insurance and pensions providers are expanding their sustainable offerings and adapting their business models to be more sustainable. While the growth of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing can contribute to the transition to a more sustainable economy, greenwashing risk exists. Greenwashing is the practice of misrepresenting sustainability-related features of investment products. The issue has received renewed attention at European level, with EIOPA recently...

February 28, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
28Feb

US. NYC Pensions Are Sued for Shedding Fossil Fuels

Monica Weiss attended her first fossil-fuel divestment protest on a frigid February day in 2015. She joined college students, financial experts, faith leaders, and then-New York City Public Advocate Letitia James in front of the New York Stock Exchange to demand that the city’s five public pension funds factor the financial risks of climate change into their investment decisions. Over the course of her two-decade career teaching first and third grade in New York City public schools, Weiss infused nature...

February 28, 2024
News, ,
Read more...
26Feb

Investors trying to change the world: Why climate investing is so difficult

Responsible asset owners are preparing their portfolios for the climate transition, reducing holdings in companies with high emissions and pledging billions to climate investments. But climate proofing portfolios is proving one of the most arduous and complex challenges investors have ever faced. Like concerns that many of the underlying companies in their portfolios haven’t meaningfully reduced their emissions; or the fact investors know they need to continue to provide capital to hard to abate sectors yet the financial rewards for...

February 26, 2024
News, , ,
Read more...
21Feb

US state pensions risk “hard earned savings” by ignoring climate risks

The global cost of extreme weather attributable to climate change is estimated at $143bn per year over the past 20 years, according to a 2023 study in scientific journal Nature. Despite this, US state pension funds are “not taking adequate steps to reduce climate-related financial risks”, finds a new report from three environmental organisations. “Far too few state pensions are taking adequate steps to address climate-related financial risks and protect their members’ hard-earned savings, raising serious concerns about their execution of fiduciary duty – the obligation...

February 21, 2024
News,
Read more...
21Feb

Majority of UK pension providers have ‘inadequate’ climate plans, says MMMM

A majority of the leading defined contribution (DC) pension providers in the UK have “inadequate” or “poor” plans to tackle climate change, research from Make My Money Matter (MMMM) has shown. The ethical pension campaign's Climate Action Report, developed in collaboration with sustainability research provider Profundo, carried out assessments of the 20 largest workplace DC pension providers who hold a combined £500bn in assets under management with more than 15 million active members. The research, carried out between September and December...

February 21, 2024
News,
Read more...
16Feb

US. New York pension fund to divest some Exxon holdings

The New York State Common Retirement Fund will restrict its investments in eight integrated oil and gas companies, including the divestment of a small share of its holdings in Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees retirement assets, said on Thursday. The move follows a review of the companies' readiness to transition to a low-carbon economy, DiNapoli said in a statement. The move amounts to a compromise measure by the third-largest U.S. state pension fund as it and...

February 16, 2024
News, , ,
Read more...
08Feb

U.K. pension funds may consider climate change – Financial Markets Law Committee

The U.K. committee advising the markets on financial law said pension trustees may consider climate change when making investment decisions, allaying long-standing concerns that incorporating key ESG factors could be a breach of fiduciary duty. The Financial Markets Law Committee said U.K. trustees are required to make "careful" decisions, and that includes considering factors such as climate change that market prices may not yet reflect, in a Feb. 6 paper. While targeted at pension funds, the committee said its conclusions are...

February 8, 2024
News, ,
Read more...