Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's board of trustees has approved a governance charter establishing a climate advisory panel to advise the board, the retirement system’s investment division and its consultants on ways to address and mitigate climate risk across the $70.4 billion Baltimore-based pension fund.
The climate advisory panel, the establishing charter for which was approved Dec. 17, will consist of at least three outside experts in the analysis of climate change risk who are experienced in climate science or climate economics, according to a news release. The panel members will be appointed by the board.
“By establishing this advisory panel, we can leverage outside expertise and work collaboratively as we establish a path to a long-term sustainable portfolio consistent with our fiduciary duties, said Dereck E. Davis, state treasurer and chair of the system’s board, in the news release.
Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman, who chairs the system’s investment committee, sponsored a 2022 bill to authorize the panel’s creation.
“Both the energy transition and physical changes wrought by the changing climate present risks and opportunities to our pension investments,” Lierman said in the news release. “Creating this climate advisory council will ensure that Maryland’s pension system can be at the forefront of seizing opportunities to ensure we are generating excess returns for our beneficiaries. I am confident that if used correctly by our system, the expertise we will bring in through this new council will allow for innovative investments that make our system more profitable with less risk over the long term.”
The panel will collaborate with the investment division on climate projects and reports, and develop recommendations for evaluating and monitoring climate change risk across the retirement system’s portfolio.
Executive Director Martin Noven and CIO Andrew Palmer will recommend a list of qualified candidates to Davis, and the panel will then be selected with a board vote, according to the release.
