The UN-Convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance releases the second edition of its Target Setting Protocol, which guides its 69 asset owner members in setting further ambitious climate targets that align with the very latest IPCC pathways to keep global warming below 1.5°C. The growth in scope of the Protocol and its alignment is bolstered for the first time by a list of key climate-related considerations that members can ask of asset managers and companies.
New expectations on asset managers
The Protocol also calls on asset managers to publicly commit to supporting the transition and moreover, to commit their entire portfolios to 1.5°C degree alignment and net-zero by 2050, preferably through the Net-Zero Asset Managers Initiative.
The Alliance also encourages a variety of systematic engagement approaches, with the Protocol including a list of key climate-related asks of managers such as publishing their approach to integrating climate risk and opportunities (both transition and physical) and explaining how limitations are addressed.
Guenther Thallinger, Board Member Allianz SE & Chair UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance said:
“This advanced guidance will help investors already committed to net-zero to take the urgent shorter-term action that climate science demands.“Where the first edition of this Protocol focused on 2020 to 2025, today’s ambition towards 2030 stresses the need for powerful, credible and rapid action to achieve a net-zero emissions world. Action is needed now, and every company is challenged to follow the lead of Alliance members and adjust business models, develop plans for the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future, and then implement those plans.“The Alliance Commitment requires its members to publish interim targets on a five-year cycle. Targets must be ambitious enough to signal an Alliance member’s expectations while considering that the real economy is only just beginning its net-zero transition.”
Net Zero Request on investRFP.com
Investors released a Request on investRFP.com with a focus on Net Zero. Asset managers provided information on their approach and specific strategies.
More information on the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance.
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