Investment giants set out global standard for climate lobbying
A group of investment giants have ramped up pressure on boardrooms to increase transparency on climate lobbying today, laying out an action plan that bosses will have to stick to or risk having shareholders vote on their decisions.
The Global Standard on Responsible Climate Lobbying, developed by Swedish pension scheme AP7, BNP Paribas Asset Management and the Church of England Pensions Board, will pressure boards to commit to responsible climate lobbying, disclose the support given to trade groups that lobby for them and take action if it runs counter to global climate targets.
The new standard has got the backing of investor groups with a collective $130trillion of assets under management and will look to hold firms to account who are lobbying against global climate targets.
Charlotta Dawidowski Sydstrand,Sustainability Strategist at AP7, said “time must be called” on negative climate lobbying.
“Investors will no longer tolerate a glaring gap between a company’s words and their actions on climate,” she said.
“As active owners we are committed to engaging collectively and individually with companies globally to highlight and improve their climate lobbying accountability and performance and to escalate this stewardship where required.”
The goal to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the middle of the century is moving increasingly out of reach, scientists say, with urgent action needed in the short-term to have any hope of reaching it.
The new standard comes as a group of top finance firms have called on businesses to reveal data on their environmental performance via non-profit organisation the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
More than 680 firms including financial heavyweights Allianz, Axa and BNP Paribas have signed an open letter today addressed to global boardrooms, asking for greater transparency on climate performance.