Popular film-maker, Richard Curtis has said that pension funds should face legal obligations to bring their investments in line with the net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal.
Curtis, who is a co-founder of the Make My Money Matter campaign group, urged ministers to follow up the UK’s legal commitment to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 by making it mandatory for pension schemes to align their portfolios with the target.
According to him, “The moment has arrived. Why not invest in sustainable investments? We can see the risks of the climate crisis. This is one of the most practical changes possible.”
He stated that everyone must take responsibility for their impact on the climate crisis.
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“People can’t say, I will sit this one out. It’s not going to go away. And [making net-zero mandatory on pension schemes] is one of the levers of change” Curtis was quoted as saying.
Ministers have been reluctant to make mandatory changes that would affect how companies invest.
Recall that at last year’s Cop26 climate summit the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, said large companies would have to disclose their exposure to the risks of the climate crisis by 2025.
But many campaigners think the mandatory disclosure of climate risk alone does not go far enough, as it does not penalise companies for investing in high-carbon activities.
The chief executive of Make My Money Matter, Tony Burdon, said: “The government needs to ensure that net-zero is mandatory [on pension schemes] to help trustees. Now, some trustees are fearful.
Speaking further, he said “They think they might see a legal challenge [if they moved to net zero]. We think just the opposite – that if they do not move to net zero, they could see legal challenges.”
He maintained that If the government made net-zero targets mandatory on the pension industry, the default position for advisers would switch to advocating investments with a low carbon footprint, which would have a transformative effect on the UK’s investment landscape.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
