The Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) has released the 2024 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis. This has been signed by 534 financial institutions and their representatives, with more than USD$29 trillion ($37.56 trillion) in assets under management.
Signatories include abrdn, BNP Paribas Asset Management, California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), Daiwa Asset Management, Eastspring Investment Group, EOS at Federated Hermes Limited, Nikko Asset Management and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
In a Sept 17 announcement, AIGCC says a “whole-of-government” approach is needed to achieve a climate-resilient, net-zero-emission economy by 2050 or earlier, with interim targets in line with credible 1.5°C pathways. This approach would unlock public and private capital flows needed to achieve their goals.
Public policies enacted in the last few years — including the US Inflation Reduction Act and the EU Fit-for-55 — have helped to accelerate investment in global clean energy by 40% since 2020, reaching an estimated US$1.8 trillion in 2023, reads AIGCC’s statement.
However, this falls short of the estimated annual US$4.8 trillion by 2030 needed for the global economy to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
As such, the statement calls for governments to enact policies across five essential policy groupings:
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- Enacting economy-wide public policies
- Implementing sectoral strategies, especially in high-emitting sectors
- Addressing nature, water and biodiversity-related challenges contributing to and stemming from the climate crisis
- Mandating climate-related disclosures across the financial system
- Facilitating further private investment into climate mitigation, resilience and adaptation activities in emerging markets and developing economies
“We encourage governments to consider other fiscal, financial and regulatory innovations that could reduce the cost of capital and facilitate a just and equitable net-zero transition,” reads the statement.
Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of AIGCC, highlights the impact that investors and financial institutions have in achieving a net zero emissions economy. With just five years until the 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”, she says.
The statement will remain open until Nov 1, ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it will be presented to governments with the final list of signatures.
