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Media Release
3rd December 2015
Investors take an active role in Paris
Australian and New Zealand investors are playing an active role in Paris, joining international investor
groups in calling for a strong and effective global climate change agreement and demonstrating
investor actions to support the low carbon transition.
Institutional investors who are part of the investor networks that make up the Global Investor
Coalition on Climate Change are among the largest in the world in terms of assets under
management, and have been vocal in calling for meaningful carbon pricing and an ambitious climate
agreement in Paris.
Over 400 institutional investors representing more than US$24 trillion in assets have endorsed a
global call for government leadership to secure a tangible long-term deal that will unleash capital and
innovation at the pace and scale required to address the climate challenge and to drive transition a
low-carbon global economy.
In addition, investors have been taking action to manage climate risks and opportunities within their
own holdings, including measuring and reducing carbon portfolio risks, shifting investments towards
low-carbon activities and engaging fossil fuel companies to curb carbon asset risks. More information
at www.globalinvestorcoalition.org
A coalition led by the UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI ) is today launching a new guide on
Integrating Climate Risks in Real Estate, to give a strong signal of support to governments by the real
estate finance industry and call on other investors to scale up investments in energy efficient and
sustainable buildings. The coalition, composed of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (CeresINCR), the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), the Institutional Investors Group on Climate
Change (IIGCC), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Royal Institute for Chartered
Surveyors (RICS) and UNEP FI is currently working on a resource for real estate investors to scale up
investments in energy efficient buildings.
On Friday, global investors will be holding a major side event at the Paris COP to discuss their own
actions and the importance of strong climate change policies for managing carbon risk.
Fri 4 Dec 15.00 – 16:30 CET: Investor Actions on Climate Change: Building on Momentum Past
Paris (Le Bourget ‘Blue Zone’)
How are more than 400 investors taking action on climate change by measuring carbon emissions,
reallocating capital, engaging with industry, and helping shape policy frameworks? This session will
showcase a broad range of climate actions being undertaken by the investor community to encourage
further initiatives and help drive momentum for an ambitious global climate deal at COP21. Featuring
Per Bolund, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets; Anne Simpson, senior portfolio manager and
corporate governance director at CalPERS (the largest U.S. public pension fund); Donald MacDonald,
Trustee Director BTPS and Chairman IIGCC; Eloy Lindeijer, CEO Investment PGGM; Frank Pegan,
CEO Catholic Super (and Chair of IGCC); Henri de Castries, CEO at AXA; Heidi Skaaret, COO of
Storebrand; James Bevan, CEO at CCLA, and Tom Steyer. Follow the conversation at
#COP21investors.
The event is co-sponsored by Ceres’ INCR, IIGCC, IGCC, AIGCC, PRI, CDP and UNEP-FI, founding
partners for the Investor Platform for Climate Action (http://investorsonclimatechange.org)
Media Release
3rd December 2015
IGCC will be in Paris for the climate change conference to represent Australian and New Zealand
investor perspectives on the need for an effective response to climate change to support economic
growth.
---ENDS---
Attached: GIC Media Advisory and Release
For media enquiries contact:
Emma Herd +61 404 861 026 , [email protected]
Visit IGCC at www.igcc.org.au
PRESS ADVISORY – FINANCE DAY
***MEDIA ADVISORY***
COP21 Climate Action Dialogue
Investor Actions on Climate Change: Building on Momentum Past Paris
4 December 2015 from 15:00 to 16:30
Press: To RSVP (secure a seat) or for more information, please contact one of:
Hannah Pearce, IIGCC Communications Manager: [email protected] T: +44 7867 360 273
Peyton Fleming, Ceres/INCR Communication Manager: [email protected] T: +1 617-733-6660
This 90-minute side event will bring together CEOs of pension funds and asset
managers from around the world who are shifting capital in support of the low-carbon
transition. It will also highlight further activity and commitments from the mainstream
investor and finance world. Two separate but reinforcing panels will discuss practices
investors can adopt and the role that investors can play to influence regulators,
companies and intermediaries in the financial sector to align incentives in favor of a
low carbon and climate resilient economy.
Keynote presentations
Daniele Violette, Chief of Staff of the secretariat of the UNFCCC
Tom Steyer, Business leader, Philanthropist and Clean Energy Advocate
Donald MacDonald, Trustee Director BTPS, Chairman IIGCC
Panel 1 - Portfolio Actions
Henri de Castries, CEO, AXA
Eloy Lindeijer, CEO Investment PGGM
Heidi Skaaret, COO of Storebrand
Per Bolund, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets
Panel 2 – Using investor influence
Anne Simpson, Investment Director Global Governance, CalPERS
James Bevan, CIO, CCLA
Frank Pegan, CEO Catholic Super
Donna Oosthuyse, Director for Capital Markets at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
LOGISTICS
What: Climate Action Dialogue: Investor Actions on Climate Change
When: 4 December 2015 | 15:00 PM CET – 16:30 PM CET
Where: In the Blue Zone (Press Room 1)
Interviews: Please bid promptly over email to one of the press contacts for interviews with any panellist(s), in
advance or after the event.
Twitter: Follow #COP21investors - investors’ conversation at COP 21 - before, during and after this event.
Visual resource: A new infographic illustrating investor efforts to date can be found at
http://investorsonclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Investor-Platform-for-Climate-Actions-InvestorActions-Infographic.pdf
Livestream: This event can be viewed on the UNFCCC website here: http://unfccc6.metafusion.com/cop21/channels/press-room-1-1
Coordinating organizations for this session
CDP, Ceres/INCR, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change [IIGCC], Investors Group on Climate
Change [IGCC], Principles for Responsible Investment [PRI], UNEP FI.
Background to the session:
The investor networks leading this event have developed The Investor Platform for Climate Action
(http://investorsonclimatechange.org/) to showcase mainstream investor actions in measurement, engagement,
reallocation and reinforcement of climate objectives. The scale of investor action ahead of COP21 is illustrated
visually in a new infographic published on 01 December, 2015.
The Investor Platform for Climate Action was launched at the Paris Climate Finance summit in May 2015, and
acknowledged by Francois Hollande as evidence of investor appetite for a strong deal in Paris. The launch of
the platform follows the call last September to world leaders by more than 400 investors managing over $24
trillion in assets for a strong global climate deal. (See the Global Investor Statement on Climate Change
http://investorsonclimatechange.org/statement/)
FOR MORE INFORMATION
@IIGCCnews
@INCR_news
@IGCC_update
@UNEP_FI
@CDP
PRESS RELEASE – INVESTOR ACTIONS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
***PRESS RELEASE***
COP21 Climate Action Dialogue – Investor Actions on Climate Change
4 December 2015 from 15:00 to 16:30 CET
INVESTOR VOICE LOUD AND STRONG AT CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS IN PARIS
Leading investors meet at COP21 to reinforce call for robust Paris climate agreement to enable rapid scale up
of investment in low-carbon transition
PARIS 4 December 2015 - As government representatives continue negotiations to hammer
out a global climate deal at COP21 in Paris, institutional investors assemble to highlight their
contributions in a number of areas.
The last week has delivered significant milestones in four key areas of investor activity:
 More than 400 investors with a collective US$ 24 trillion in assets under management have now signed
the Global Investor Statement on Climate Change - a call to action setting out the steps investors can
and will take to address climate change alongside the six specific policy responses from governments
that would allow investor actions, including low-carbon investments, to be scaled up even further.

More than 115 investors have pledged to measure and disclose their carbon footprint via the Montréal
Pledge

The Portfolio Decarbonisation Coalition’s US$100 billion target has been exceeded by $130 billion as
23 investors now work to reduce their financed emissions

More than $50 billion in low carbon investments are now registered on the Low Carbon Investment
Registry.
Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change said, “Investors know they have a
unique role in enabling both the pace and scale of investment required to realise Government ambitions around
the world to curb runaway climate change. They also know that a global deal will never become easier in the
future so they have come to Paris calling in the strongest possible terms for a long term emissions reduction
goal to deliver the 2°C objective.”
“Investors are speaking with a clear voice: we need a strong agreement that will put us on a path that avoids
catastrophic climate change,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres and director of the $13 trillion Investor
Network on Climate Risk (INCR). “A successful COP21 will unleash investment and innovation in clean energy
at the scale that is needed to limit global warming and protect the global economy.”
“Trillions of dollars in capital will move out of some industries and into others as the world economy pivots
around the need to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius. Momentum is building and investors are alive to
the opportunities. Having a clear transitional pathway with regular review and ratchet milestones will
accelerate the deployment of capital into low carbon investment", added Emma Herd, Chief Executive of the
Investor Group on Climate Change, a collaboration of over 60 Australian and New Zealand institutional
investors, representing over $1 trillion AUM.
“We know that private climate finance is vital to ensure that developing countries are able to successfully
transition to a low carbon environment,” said Fiona Reynolds, managing director of the PRI, “and to
demonstrate that wealthier nations are honouring the commitments they made back in 2009. The good news is
that a recent study by the Climate Policy Initiative showed that global climate finance hit a record-breaking
$391bn in 2014, thanks to a surge in private investment in renewable energy.”
Eric Usher, Acting Director UNEP FI adds, "The fact that the Portfolio Decarbonisation Coalition has more than
doubled its $100bn goal is indicative of the transformation of investor action on climate change. Investor
leadership is a starting point but it is our hope this will send a clear message to the negotiators in Paris that we
need a strong and ambitious agreement to keep us on a 2 degree trajectory."
Paul Simpson, CEO, CDP said: “Investors have sent a clear message that climate change matters to them – it
is already affecting company valuations and investors are responding by assessing the risks and opportunities
in their portfolios. Better disclosure from companies is vital to enable a proper risk assessment and investors
have shown that they are already reallocating capital away from those companies who are not responding to
their concerns.”
About the Investor Platform on Climate Action
The Investor Platform for Climate Action was launched at the Paris Climate Finance summit in May 2015, and
acknowledged by Francois Hollande as evidence of investor appetite for a strong deal in Paris. It was founded
by all the key investor stakeholder networks - AIGCC, CDP, CeresINCR, IIGCC,
IGCC, PRI, UNEP FI - to create a single venue to showcase all investor actions and initiatives on climate
change.
The launch of the platform follows the call last September to world leaders by more than 400 investors
managing over $24 trillion in assets for a strong global climate deal. (See the Global Investor Statement on
Climate Change http://investorsonclimatechange.org/statement/)
A visual synthesis of the many actions taken by investors to date is now available in an infographic available at
http://investorsonclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Investor-Platform-for-Climate-Actions-InvestorActions-Infographic.pdf
The Investor Platform for Climate Actions will be updated regularly throughout and beyond COP21 to reflect
new announcements as they take place.
BACKGROUND
In preparation for COP 21 institutional investors have also engaged the G7 and G20 leaders, as well as
government officials in their respective countries and at the EU. These efforts have been co-ordinated through
the coalition’s three primary regional groups, the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) in
Europe, Ceres’ Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) in the U.S., and Australasia’s Investors Group on
Climate Change (IGCC).
For investors the key asks for a strong global climate deal in Paris are:




A long-term goal – to support the 2 degrees objective and provide a clear transitional pathway.
A review and ratchet mechanism for national climate plans with a clear 5 year cycle – to ensure that
ambition is increased at regular intervals.
A commitment by governments to provide climate roadmaps to 2050.
Further progress on climate finance and private capital partnerships.
In addition, investors have been taking action to manage climate risks and opportunities within their own
holdings, including measuring and reducing carbon portfolio risks, shifting investments towards low-carbon
activities and engaging fossil fuel companies to curb carbon asset risks.