120 CEOs call on G7 to commit to climate targets
Investment funds worth more than $12tr have urged Group of Seven nations to commit to ambitious climate targets
120 CEOs of the world's biggest investment funds have called on Group of Seven (G7) nations to commit to ambitious climate targets in the build up to a global climate deal due to be signed in December.
The CEOs of investment funds including Henderson Global Investors and Schroder signed an open letter to G7 finance ministers on Tuesday urging strong emissions reduction targets to be set.
The investment funds represent more than $12 trillion in assets and the statement said: "We believe climate change is one of the biggest systemic risks we face…The benefits of addressing climate change outweigh the costs."
The letter was submitted ahead of a preparatory meeting of G7 finance ministers on Wednesday in Dresden, Germany.
Nearly 200 nations will be represented at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Paris later this year and a historic global deal is due to be agreed to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. public pension giants, California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) and California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), have signed the letter and the coalition of investors also includes the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in Canada and ERAFP, the pension fund for French civil servants.
