"Cannot
Wait for a Global Treaty," Investors
Tell Congress and other Government Policymakers
at United Nations Investors Climate Summit
New York, 14 January
2010 -On the heels of international climate
treaty talks in Copenhagen, the world's
largest investors today released a statement
calling on the U.S. and other governments
to move quickly to adopt strong national
climate policies that will spur low-carbon
investments to reduce emissions causing
climate change.
Private-sector investors
will likely be responsible for financing
more than 85 percent of the global transition
to a low-carbon economy.
Saying "we cannot
wait for a global treaty," U.S., European
and Australian investor groups representing
$13 trillion in assets called on U.S. Congress
and other global decision-makers "to
take rapid action" on carbon emission
limits, energy efficiency, renewable energy,
financing mechanisms and other policies
that will accelerate clean energy investment
and job creation.
Investors made clear
today that there are competitive advantages
for countries with comprehensive climate
and energy policies.
The investor statement
was announced at the Investor Summit on
Climate Risk, a meeting of 450 global investors
at the United Nations that included UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon, United States Special
Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern, billionaire
investor George Soros and former Vice President
Al Gore.
"Investors are
poised and ready to scale up investments
in building the low carbon economy, but
without policies that create a stable investment
environment our hands are tied," said
Anne Stausboll, chief executive officer
of the California Public Employees Retirement
System (CalPERS), the nation's largest public
pension fund with more than $205 billion
in assets. "U.S. leadership is critical
in this regard, including U.S. Senate action
to limit and put a price on carbon emissions."
"What investors
need most from national and state legislatures
are transparency, longevity and certainty,"
said Kevin Parker, global head of Deutsche
Asset Management and member of Deutsche
Bank's Group Executive Committee. "Until
the U.S. Congress passes climate regulation,
America will be at a competitive disadvantage
in the development of renewable energy and
other climate change industries."
The Investor Statement
on Catalyzing Investment in a Low-Carbon
Economy was endorsed by four groups representing
more than 190 investors. The groups are
the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR),
Institutional Investors Group on Climate
Change (IIGCC), Investor Group on Climate
Change (IGCC) and the United Nations Environment
Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
The statement is available at www.ceres.org
The financing commitments
made at the recent climate change negotiations
in Copenhagen focused major attention on
the importance of catalyzing public and
private investment at the scale required
to effectively address climate change. Studies
show that trillions of dollars of additional
investments are needed globally over the
next 20 years to curb greenhouse gas emissions
- and that more than 85 percent of those
investments will likely have to come from
private investors such as those attending
today's summit.
To catalyze such investment,
the investor statement calls on national
governments to immediately adopt or support:
Short- and long-term
carbon emission reduction targets;
An effective price on
carbon emissions that helps shift investment
towards low-carbon solutions;
Energy and transportation
measures to vastly accelerate deployment
of energy efficiency, renewable energy and
clean vehicles and fuels;
New financing mechanisms
that can mobilize private-sector investment
on a large scale, especially in developing
countries.
Measures and financing
to support climate-related adaptation in
developed and developing countries.
Requirements for full
corporate disclosure of material climate-related
risks and strategies to manage those risks.
Investors made clear
today that there are competitive advantages
for countries with comprehensive climate
and energy policies. "Germany's comprehensive
policies, for example, have sparked significant
private investment in industries focused
on addressing climate change, leading to
eight times more renewable energy jobs per
capita than the United States," the
investor statement says.
While emphasizing the
importance of national policy action, the
statement also calls on international negotiators
to adopt a legally binding agreement this
year with comprehensive long-term measures
for carbon reductions; forest protection,
adaptation to warming temperatures, finance
and technology transfer.
Today's climate investor
meeting was hosted and organized by Ceres,
the United Nations Foundation and the United
Nations Office for Partnerships. A webcast
of the summit and press conference can be
found at www.un.org/webcast
Participants at today's
all-day summit at the UN offered strong
support for the investor statement.
"As powerful as
these investors are, they can't underwrite
a clean energy transformation at the critical
scale needed without clear rules only government
can provide," said Mindy S. Lubber,
president of Ceres and director of the Investor
Network on Climate Risk. "Government
policy can make clean energy costcompetitive
by leveling the playing field with fossil
fuels. Only government policy provides the
long-term certainty that can turbo-charge
private investment in clean energy, address
the climate change threat and protect our
planet."
"Nations that address
the energy challenge most effectively will
quickly realize huge global economic opportunities.
The race is on and there's a need for speed,"
said Pennsylvania State Treasurer Rob McCord,
who joined Lubber and other leading investors
in announcing the investor statement at
the UN today.
"Many of the most
immediate impacts from global warming are
affecting the poorest countries, which are
least responsible for the problem and least
prepared to adapt," said Timothy E.
Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation.
"To keep the rise in global temperatures
to acceptable levels, the world will require
a huge increase in capital investment for
low-carbon infrastructure in developing
countries (where most of the global energy
growth will occur in the next 50 years).
Most of this investment will have to come
from the private sector - financial leaders
like those participating in today's summit."
"Some 85 percent
of the financial resources needed to cope
with climate challenges must come from private
sources. In effect, the battle over climate
change will be won - or lost - in the hands
of private investors," said Bjarné
Graven Larsen, Chief Investment Officer,
ATP, Denmark's largest institutional investor.
"In order to play this role effectively,
strong, stable and credible policy frameworks
are crucial. We are waiting for policymakers
to deliver."
"Given that Copenhagen
was a missed opportunity to create one fully
functional international carbon market,
it is more important than ever that individual
governments implement regional and domestic
policy change to stimulate the creation
of a low carbon economy," said Peter
Dunsombe, chairman of the IIGCC, a network
of European investors. "Time is of
the essence and world leaders from both
developed and developing countries need
to act now to compensate for the lack of
progress at an international level."
"Investors have
a critical role in helping drive the new
clean energy economy forward," said
Amir Dossal, executive director of the United
Nations Office for Partnerships. "National
governments can provide an enabling environment,
including sound climate and energy policies,
to encourage investors to use their capital
to advance large-scale solutions for a low-carbon
economy, leading to sustainable development.
We must develop innovative public-private
partnerships to bring about this change."
"Sustaining the
momentum on combating climate change and
delivering a legally-binding treaty in 2010
represent two of the big challenges of the
year in terms of achieving sustainable growth
and poverty reduction," said Achim
Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and
UNEP Executive Director. "This statement
underlines that investors, representing
trillions of dollars of assets, remain firmly
focused and resolved on realizing a lowcarbon,
resource-efficient green economy.
Governments should swiftly
act on the pledges and promises made at
the meetings in Copenhagen in respect to
emissions reductions and finance."
Notes to editors:
About Ceres & INCR:
Ceres is a leading U.S. coalition of investors
and environmental groups working with companies
to address sustainability issues such as
climate change. Ceres also coordinates the
Investor Network on Climate Risk, a North
American network of 80 institutional investors
focused on the financial risks and investment
opportunities from climate change.
About IIGCC
The Institutional Investors
Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is a forum
for collaboration on climate change for
European investors. The group's objective
is to catalyze greater investment in a low-carbon
economy by bringing investors together to
use their collective influence with companies,
policymakers and investors. The group currently
has over 50 members, representing assets
of around - 4trillion.
About IGCC
The IGCC represents
institutional investors operating in Australia
and New Zealand, with assets around AU$500bn,
and others in the investment community interested
in the impact of climate change on investments.The
IGCC aims to ensure that the risks and opportunities
associated with climate change are incorporated
into investment decisions for the ultimate
benefit of individual investors.
About UNEP FI
UNEP FI is a global
partnership between UNEP and the financial
sector. Over 170 institutions, including
banks, insurers, fund managers and investors,
work with UNEP to understand the impacts
of environmental and social considerations
on financial performance.
Further Resources
2010 Investor Statement on Catalyzing Investment
in a Low-Carbon Economy
UNEP: Finance Initiative
