Stockholm (NordSIP) – Nine investors with a combined worth of €2 trillion in AUM are joining forces with the UN Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) to promote action on climate reporting in the investor community.
The investors – Addenda Capital, Aviva, Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, Desjardins Group, La Française Group, Nordea Investment Management, Norges Bank Investment Management (the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund), Rockefeller Asset Management and Storebrand Asset Management – are to collaborate on providing information by following guidelines provided by the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
Results are expected in a preliminary report to be published by the end of the year.
“The message from these investment leaders is clear – climate change is real and it is the single largest threat to our economy,” said UN Environment Head, Erik Solheim. “At the same time, there are endless business opportunities in climate action. Transparency on how investors mitigate the risks and seize the opportunities of a climate-compatible pathway is crucial to move international markets towards actively supporting a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.”
“The outputs and conclusions of the group will encourage and ease the adoption of the TCFD’s recommendations by the wider industry.”
The group is not acting in isolation, and will coordinate with other existing initiatives such as the Principles for Responsible Investment and the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change, whose new Investor Practices Programme is structured around TCFD recommendations, and the Investor Agenda, a platform for the global investor community to display is achievements and objectives on climate change.
“The more information investors have about the climate risks and opportunities facing companies, the smarter decisions they will be able to make, and the more efficient our markets will become. This investor-led working group is an important step in that direction, and it’s great to see that it’s consistent with our Task Force’s recommendations,” said Michael Bloomberg, Chair of the TCFD.
The initiative follows a similar pilot project launched last year by some of the world’s largest banks to similarly join forces with the UNEP FI and TCFD to develop analytical tools to combat the effects of climate change.
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