Nest to become net-zero by 2050 to support green recovery
Nest announces its new Climate Change policy which aims to decarbonise its investment portfolio by 2050.
Nest announces its new Climate Change policy which aims to decarbonise its investment portfolio by 2050.
The largest pension scheme in the UK will invest £5.5bn in climate aware equities fund, representing 45 percent of Nest’s entire portfolio.
This move will reduce Nest’s carbon footprint by the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the road or heating roughly 50,000 households for a year via renewables.
The Climate Change policy plans includes divesting from fossil fuel companies involved in thermal coal, oil sands and arctic drilling by 2025, with the expectation that carbon emissions in its portfolio will halve by 2030.
This move comes after a survey conducted by YouGov found that 4 out of 5 (79%) UK consumers want a green recovery from coronavirus with 65 percent believing their pensions should be tackling climate change.
Nest has already invested £100m in renewable projects across Europe, such as 38m€ into solar energy plants in Italy and Spain but hopes to invest a greater proportion of its funds directly into green infrastructure under this new policy.
The policy aims to align Nest with the Paris Agreement goals and will see Nest pressure companies to follow suit. If companies show little progress following sustained engagement, Nest will divest.
In order to accomplish this, Mark Fawcett, Nest’s Chief Investment Officer, said that Nest will: “use our close partnerships with fund managers to amplify our impact and coordinate activities towards meeting the Paris Agreement goals.”
Responding to Nest’s new climate change policy Lauren Peacock, Campaign Manager at ShareAction, the responsible investment charity, said: “By committing to engage with companies head on, all the while moving assets out of high carbon sectors, Nest is setting clear expectation for those most responsible for climate emergency and demonstrating the power of pensions to move them along a more sustainable path.”