Border to Coast Pensions Partnership, Leeds, England, has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its investment portfolio no later than 2050.
The U.K. local government pension schemes that form the pool have £55 billion ($75.5 billion) in assets.
Border to Coast Chairman Chris Hitchen said in a news release that "doing nothing is not an option. Representing asset owners with over £55bn of assets, we have a key role in not just managing the impact of climate change on our portfolios, but also in supporting the investment needed to transition to a low-carbon future."
The commitment accompanies the pool's first stand-alone policy on climate change. It includes excluding pure coal and tar sand companies, supporting climate-related resolutions at company meetings, encouraging companies to publish targets and steps taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and collaborating with other asset owners to bring about positive change.
Border to Coast intends to become a signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative later this year.
Over the coming year, Border to Coast said it will work with its 11 partner funds on managing their climate change investment risks and reporting requirements.
The plan includes setting interim targets for 2030 that support efforts to achieve up to a 50% global reduction in carbon dioxide emissions; engaging with policymakers, regulators and companies on emissions reductions; creating more investment propositions aligned with net-zero emissions by 2050 or focused on climate transition solutions; and working to improve carbon data disclosure and transparency in fixed income and private markets, the announcement said.
In a separate news release, Scotland's second largest public pension fund, Lothian Pension Fund, Edinburgh, said it has signed on to a joint global investor statement calling on governments to ramp up their efforts to address the climate crisis.
Lothian Pension Fund has £8.7 billion in assets.
The Investor Agenda's 2021 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis now represents 587 investors around the world with a collective $46 trillion in assets or 40% of global assets.
The statement urges governments to raise their climate ambition to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees, implement meaningful emissions reduction policies, mandate climate-related financial reporting in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, and deliver COVID-19 economic recovery plans that support a just transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.
