December 2025

UK. Securing our future: Climate risk and the Pension Schemes Bill

The government is undertaking a once-in-a-generation review of the UK pensions system. It is much needed, and they have made some welcome proposals. However, they are missing the single biggest threat to long-term retirement security: climate change and the accelerating destruction of nature. By refusing to confront this reality, they are letting down pension savers and the pensions industry alike. UK pension schemes continue to hold substantial investments in fossil fuels, including new coal, oil and gas projects. These investments drive...

UK pension schemes ignoring climate change responsibilities

That vast majority of the UK's largest pension schemes are failing to directly engage with large investee companies on their role tackling climate change. After analysing the 16 largest pension schemes, managing over £34bn in assets, ShareAction found that only Nest and TPT Retirement Solutions directly engage with big companies on climate risks. This is despite new regulations requiring pension funds to publish policies on how they incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in their investments. It was also found that the majority...

November 2025

US. NYC comptroller urges city pensions to drop BlackRock, other managers over climate concerns

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander recommended that the city’s three pension funds drop a trio of asset managers for failing to meet the climate expectation of the city’s net-zero implementation plan, Lander’s office said in a Wednesday release. Lander recommended the city’s pensions move on from BlackRock, Fidelity and PanAgora in an update to the trustees of the city’s Teachers’ Retirement System, the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and Board of Education Retirement System. The recommendation for the city’s...

UK. Climate change must be included in any pensions review

There has been a call for the government to consider climate change risks in its any review of the pension system. The chief executive of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association, James Alexander, has written to the Pensions Commission. In the letter he warned that climate change risks and the opportunities of the net zero transition “cannot be divorced” from any review into the pension system. He wrote: “As we approach 2050 and beyond, and as global temperatures continue to increase, the...

Hidden in Plain Sight: Physical Risk in Asset Owners’ Portfolios

By Xinxin Wang, Jascha Lehmann, Russ Bowdrey & Lisa Eichler Corporate asset locations are a critical source of financial-risk intelligence for investors. More so when coupled with powerful overlays related to physical climate risk. MSCI’s new study, conducted in collaboration with Swiss Re Risk Data Solutions, analyzed more than 11,000 companies and 500,000 physical assets underpinning the listed-equity portfolios of 18 leading asset owners, representing USD 4 trillion in AUM. Location isn’t just geography, it’s financial risk exposed. The location of companies’...

Pension funds risk 33 per cent return loss from failed climate transition: Ortec

A failed global transition to a low-carbon economy could slash pension fund returns by as much as 33 per cent in the next 25 years, according to new modeling by Ortec Finance. In the face of rising physical and transition risks tied to climate change, Ortec Finance’s managing director of climate scenarios and sustainability, Maurits van Joolingen, says the modeling captures the profound uncertainty surrounding climate change, from technology deployment to geopolitical responses, but the risks to long-term portfolio performance...

October 2025

Sovereign GSSS+ Bonds: Building Blocks for Climate Ambition Analysis

By Sustainalytics Investor demand for sovereign green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked (GSSS+) bonds is growing. And with increasing scrutiny of climate goals, sovereign GSSS+ bonds may provide a signal of countries’ commitments to the Paris Agreement and meeting their nationally determined contributions (NDC). However, for investors looking to assess sovereign commitments and help drive meaningful climate impact, analyzing sovereign GSSS+ bonds in isolation may not be enough. This report offers insight into how investors can leverage these instruments to assess countries’...

Canada’s largest pension investment manager sued over alleged climate risk mismanagement

Toronto, Ont./ Traditional territories of several First Nations including the Williams Treaties First Nations, Huron-Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewas, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation — Four young people in Canada are taking the sixth largest pension fund manager in the world to court, claiming it is breaching its duty to invest in their best interests by failing to protect their pensions from climate risk. Represented by lawyers from Ecojustice and Goldblatt Partners LLP, Aliya Hirji, Travis Olson,...

European pension providers back calls for governments to stop deforestation

Institutional investors, including European pension providers, have urged global governments to adopt strong policies to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation by 2030 and to prevent further loss of natural ecosystems. The Belém Investor Statement on Rainforests highlighted investor concerns about the financial risks posed by tropical deforestation and nature loss, warning that exposure to commodities produced on deforested land creates material vulnerabilities across global investment and lending portfolios. It also said that the degradation of forests threatens the ecosystem...

Pension schemes should consider societal and environmental impact

A new poll of industry professionals shows resounding support for responsible retirement investments, without forsaking financial returns  100 members of the Society of Pension Professionals were asked if funds should take into consideration the long-term implications of investments for society and our planet. 84% believed there was a need for more responsibility in terms of the vehicles being used to safeguard people’s retirements. In contrast, just 9% said there was no need to think about impact on planet or people, and...