US President Donald Trump had declared the country would be withdrawing from the agreement in 2017, but the decision only took place on Wednesday. The US could rejoin in future, if a president chose to do so.
Australian and New Zealand-based Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), which represents a number of established local investment managers, was among the six founding partners of global initiative The Investor Agenda urging for the recommitment of the US.
Further, the collective’s statement has pushed for all signatories to the Paris Agreement to “step up their climate ambition”, towards a sustainable global economic recovery and net-zero emissions.
The Paris Agreement aims to keep global temperature rise from surpassing 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to chase efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“Achieving its goals of limiting global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius would curb the worst financial and economic impacts of climate change and enhance institutional investors’ ability to generate sustainable returns for their beneficiaries,” the Investor Agenda statement said.
PRI chief executive Fiona Reynolds, who is also a founding partner of The Investor Agenda commented: “The US is one of the largest economies in the world, and we urgently call on the administration to re-enter the Paris Agreement to help address the climate emergency.”
“In doing so, the administration can align itself with progressive governments and investors around the world in a shared commitment to protect the future of our planet.”
Emma Herd, CEO of the IGCC said the Paris Agreement has already “established a strong market signal for investors”, shifting the global economy towards decarbonisation.
“More and more investors are embedding Paris-aligned goals and strategies in to their portfolio decisions than ever before, and capital flows are increasingly moving from emissions-intensive activities to assets that are better positioned to thrive in the net-zero emissions future,” Ms Herd said.
Sarah Simpkins
Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting primarily on banking, financial services and wealth.
Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in trade media and produced stories for a current affairs program on community radio.
You can contact her on [email protected].
