August 2023
25Aug

Unbundling Climate Change Risk from ESG

By Jeffrey N. Gordon  The divergence between the United States and the European Union over ESG disclosure and compliance policy for asset managers and companies is a striking feature of the corporate governance landscape. This divergence derives at least in part from differences in core features of the relevant political economy. In particular, retirement security in the US is significantly tied to stock market values; this is not so in Europe. The US is a petro-state, the world’s largest producer...

August 25, 2023
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25Aug

Canada’s Largest Pension Fund Invests in Reforestation Project in the Amazon

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has joined a project led by Mombak Gestora de Recursos to produce carbon credits through reforestation efforts in Brazil’s Amazon region. The Canadian pension fund will invest up to US$30 million in Mombak’s reforestation fund, which aims to reach a target of US$100 million. The investment reflects a growing demand for carbon removal projects in voluntary carbon markets, as buyers increasingly favor initiatives that actually remove carbon rather than simply avoiding emissions. Mombak plans...

August 25, 2023
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23Aug

UN pension fund flags climate risk on ALM and performance

In a nod to headwinds including climate change, evolving demographics, and the future economic outlook the $85.5 billion United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, UNJSPF, will use a slightly lower real rate of return on investments to inform its upcoming actuarial valuation. The 2023 ALM study will consider various scenarios for the future, including those incorporating climate risk. The 2023 ALM study will consider various scenarios for the future, including those incorporating climate risk. Under a baseline scenario based on moderate...

August 23, 2023
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July 2023
23Jul

Providing security, building sustainable futures

By Pension Protection Fund  Our purpose is to protect the future of millions of people throughout the UK who belong to defined benefit (DB) pension schemes - 9.6 million as at 31 march 2022. When these schemes fail we’re ready to help. We do this by paying our members, charging a levy and investing for the long term. Read book “here”

July 23, 2023
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11Jul

South Korea’s $1 trillion pension fund under new pressure by climate groups over coal

South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) is being challenged by climate groups demanding for the retirement fund, one of the world’s largest, to disclose details of discussions over limiting investments in coal. Three activist groups jointly filed a case on Tuesday at the Seoul Administrative Court accusing the welfare ministry, which oversees the fund, of refusing to release minutes of meetings at which coal divestment policies were discussed, the campaigners said in a statement. NPS declined to comment on the...

July 11, 2023
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04Jul

California Quietly Shelves $15 Billion Pension Divestment Bill

The California State Assembly has shelved legislation that would have forced the country’s two largest pension funds to divest an estimated $15 billion from oil and gas companies, a major blow to environmental advocates who hoped the funds could be a national model for the divestment movement. SB-252, which passed the state Senate in May, won’t be given a floor vote, according to the bill’s lead author, Senator Lena Gonzalez of Los Angeles County. The legislation has been converted to...

July 4, 2023
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June 2023
29Jun

US. Pension funds would have $21 billion more without fossil fuel holdings – study

Several public pension funds under pressure to divest from fossil fuel investments would have had as much as $21 billion more over the last decade without them, according to a study by the University of Waterloo released Wednesday by advocacy group Stand.Earth. In the report, The Impact of Energy Investments on the Financial Value and the Emissions of Pension Funds, researchers at the university's School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) used Bloomberg data to analyze six large pension funds'...

June 29, 2023
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29Jun

UK pension funds still holding £88bn in fossil fuels, despite increased climate commitments

UK-based pension schemes have more than £88bn invested in fossil fuel firms, the equivalent of £3,000 per pension policyholder. That is according to Make My Money Matter, which has analysed the fossil fuel investments of more than 50 of the nation’s largest pension schemes. Most of these schemes have net-zero targets but are yet to completely stop investing in fossil fuels. While some fossil fuels are likely to be used in a net-zero world, Net-Zero Tracker recently confirmed that no major...

June 29, 2023
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26Jun

CEO of Malaysia’s largest pension fund warns body could divest from companies not committed to ESG goals

Even as Malaysian firms are encouraged to take a step-by-step approach towards achieving environmental, social and governance (ESG) compliance, they should not be disregarding ESG issues, or this could put them at risk of having the country’s largest pension fund withdraw its investments. In one of his strongest warnings issued to-date, Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, chief executive of Malaysia’s Employment Provident Fund (EPF), said the fund will divest from companies not committed to ESG goals. Speaking at a session on...

June 26, 2023
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23Jun

Shell Dumped by Church of England Pensions Due to Oil Risk

The Church of England Pensions Board said it had decided to divest its holding in Shell (SHEL.L) over what it said were insufficient plans to align its strategy to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Board, which up to 2022 led engagement with Shell on behalf of the CA100+ climate-focussed investor group, has around 1.35 million pounds ($1.72 million) invested in Shell of its total 3.2 billion pounds in investments. The Church of England's separate 10.3...

June 23, 2023
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