Over 500 institutional investors join forces to urge governments to step up climate policy ambition

Investor groups from around the world publicly released a statement signed by 532 institutional investors with US $39 trillion in assets under management, advocating for governments to enact ambitious policies that would leverage the private capital required to effectively address the climate crisis. 

The 2022 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis is the most ambitious statement to date in terms of the policy recommendations contained within it, calling on governments to raise their climate ambition in line with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. The most ambitious actions called for include mandated climate transition plans from investors.

The statement also covers new policy areas not addressed in previous statements, including a focus on tackling methane pollution, climate adaptation and resilience, and scaling up climate finance for developing countries. Investor signatories to the statement are specifically urging governments to rapidly implement five priority policy actions, that will allow them to invest the trillions needed to respond to the climate crisis.  The full list of policy recommendations can be found in the statement, but a summary is as follows. Investors urge governments to:

1. Ensure that the 2030 targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions align with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C.  
2. Implement domestic policies across the real economy and take early action to ensure that their 2030 greenhouse gas emissions are aligned with the goal of keeping global temperature rise to 1.5°C. 
3. Contribute to the reduction in non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions and support the effective implementation of the Global Methane Pledge to reduce emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030.
4. Scale up the provision of climate finance from the public and the private sector for mitigation, and for adaptation and resilience, with a particular focus on the needs of developing countries.
5. Strengthen climate disclosures across the financial system.

Coordinated by the Founding Partners of the Investor Agenda the statement has already garnered 532 signatures from investors with US $39 trillion in assets under management and remains open for signature until the United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) in November. 

Rebecca Mikula-Wright, Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) and Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) CEO and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, said: “This is a powerful call from investors for governments to strengthen, broaden and accelerate their climate policies.”

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