NEW YORK, New York, September 16, 2009 (ENS) - The world's largest global investors today issued a joint call for strong action this year from U.S. and international policy makers to control global warming. Signed by 181 investors, who collectively manage more than $13 trillion in assets worldwide, the statement on the "urgent need for global agreement on climate change" was released at the International Investor Forum on Climate Change in New York.
Hosted by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and keynoted by British economist Lord Nicholas Stern, the forum comes in advance of key negotiations in Copenhagen this December to finalize a new international climate change treaty to take effect after the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012.
"Unmitigated climate change poses a threat to the global economy," said Stern. "But building a low carbon economy creates opportunities for investment in new technologies that promise to transform our society in the same way as the introduction of electricity or railways did in the past."
Investors are already starting to invest in a low-carbon world that is "cleaner, quieter, safer and more biodiverse," said Stern, who chairs the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics and serves as special advisor to the group chairman of HSBC on economic development and climate change, "but these investments will be much more effective if the right climate policies are in place. Investments will drive the political process." …
"We must chart a new course toward long-term, sustainable business practices," said DiNapoli, who heads the $116.5 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund and its $500 million green strategic investment program. "We cannot drag our feet on the issue of global climate change. I am deeply concerned about the investor risks climate change presents, and the human cost of inaction is unthinkable." …
Investors Worth $13 Trillion Urge Strong Global Climate Treaty
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