Nearly 500 global investors with $34 trillion in assets called on governments attending the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, to act on the Paris Agreement "with utmost urgency," according to the Investor Agenda's website.
A letter issued Wednesday by the group — which includes money managers and a host of large public pension funds around the globe — requested world leaders to meet the 2015 Paris Agreement's goals by phasing out thermal coal power worldwide no later than in 2020.
The group urged governments to incorporate Paris-aligned climate scenarios into all policy frameworks and energy transition programs as well as end fossil fuel subsidies. They also want to see governments commit to implement the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures recommendations in their jurisdictions no later than in 2020 and request international standard bodies to incorporate the recommendations into their global guidelines.
"As shareholders, we are engaging with companies about their emissions, and how their boards and their business plans are preparing them for a carbon constrained future," Jack Ehnes, CEO of the $226.1 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System, West Sacramento, said in a news release published by the group aimed at scaling up actions tackling climate change.
"We need the governments of the world to implement the Paris Agreement and regulate emissions on a clear timeline so that businesses know what the interim targets are and the timeline for their action," Mr. Ehnes added in the release.
Deanne Stewart, CEO of the A$90 billion ($62.3 billion) Sydney-based First State Super, added in the release: "This aligns with the view of regulators in Australia, and internationally, who have identified climate change as a significant material and foreseeable risk and have called for immediate action. While we are responding on behalf of our members, this issue will require a coordinated, collective and collaborate response from governments, business and investors to ensure that critical changes are made now for the long-term interests of our members and the community."
