A global investor statement was released Tuesday, with signatures of 534 financial institutions managing more than $29 trillion in assets calling for a whole-government approach to reaching nature positive and net zero emissions.
The 2024 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis was released one week before New York Climate Week, in a letter led by groups including the UNEP Finance Initiative and Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change.
“Effective policies are essential at all levels of government to accelerate the private capital flows needed for a climate-resilient, nature positive, just net zero transition,” said the investor statement.
“We encourage a whole-of-government approach to implement policies in line with countries’ nationally-determined contributions (NDCs) and a 1.5C scenario.”
The letter urged governments to drive large-scale private investment, while recognising the different capacities of emerging and developed economies.
The Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC), CDP, Ceres, and Principles for Responsible Investment also coordinated the letter.
Remaining open until Nov. 1, the final list of signatories will be presented to governments at COP29 in Azerbaijan that month.
REVERSE DEFORESTATION BY 2030
The letter asked government to address nature, water, and biodiversity-related challenges that stem from the climate crisis.
Financiers said countries must:
- Implement ambitious National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans that align with NDC targets
- Commit to addressing water scarcity, pollution, and ecosystem degradation, aiming to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030
- Increase climate finance for nature-based and water solutions
- Promote nature-related disclosures by encouraging corporate reporting in line with the Taskforce on Nature-Related Disclosures (TNFD)
“With just five years to go before the critical 2030 milestone, this group of leading investors is making it clear to governments that the right set of strong policies will unleash a wave of capital to fund the climate solutions that the global economy desperately needs,” said Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of AIGCC.
“Now is the time for investors to join this call for the policies that will protect their economies.”
The statement calls for governments to enact policies across four other policy groupings:
- Implement economy-wide public policies
- Focus on strategies for high-emission sectors
- Require climate-related disclosures in the financial system
- Encourage private investment in climate solutions in developing economies
The demands included implementing robust carbon pricing mechanisms that rise over time, while establishing targets to phase out unabated fossil fuel use.
The statement follows investors representing $1.4 trln in assets calling on investee companies to urgently disclose their nature-related impacts, led by a World Benchmarking Alliance coalition, earlier this month.
In June, a group of 204 investors joined forces to back an initiative on nature stewardship.
By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com
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