The 2021 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis

On 10^th June, in conjunction with the campaign group Investor Agenda and 456 other investors managing more than $41 trillion in assets, we at Castlefield released a joint statement to every government across the globe[1].The statement urged governments to increase their efforts in the fight against climate change and in limiting temperature rises to no more than 1.5-degrees Celsius above the global average.

Investor Agenda is a collective of seven major global investor working groups with a common leadership agenda focused on addressing the climate crisis and accelerating investor action for the transition to a net-zero emissions future[2].

As signatories to the Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis, we called upon global governments to undertake five priority actions ahead of COP26 in November[3]. These include the strengthening of Nationally Determined Contributions for 2030 in line with the 1.5c Paris limit. In addition to this, we call for the commitment to domestic mid-century net-zero emissions targets with clear decarbonisation roadmaps for every carbon-intensive sector. We are also seeking the implementation of domestic policies to help deliver these targets including the phasing out of thermal coal-based electricity generation and the avoidance of new carbon-intensive infrastructure such as the development of new coal power plants. Finally, we are requesting that the COVID-19 recovery plans be used to support the transition to net-zero emissions and that climate risk disclosure aligned with the Task Force on Climate Related Disclosure (TCFD) recommendations becomes mandatory.

Many nations have already agreed to some of these commitments ahead of COP26 although significant gaps still exist across most nations[4]. As things stand, the world is not on a trajectory that would meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Therefore, we must be even more ambitious in order to achieve a more sustainable and prosperous future globally.

Written by Barney Timson

[1] https://theinvestoragenda.org/press-releases/10-june-2021/

[2] https://theinvestoragenda.org/

[3] https://theinvestoragenda.org/press-releases/10-june-2021/

[4] https://theinvestoragenda.org/press-releases/10-june-2021/

All information quoted is obtained from sources which we believe to be accurate at the time of publication but may be subject to change. We therefore cannot be held responsible for the implications of relying on this information.