Climate Change: Renewed Sense of Urgency in Washington and Beijing

CONFERENCES A RENEWED SENSE OF URGENCY IN WASHINGTON AND BEIJING ACTUALITÉ 13 AUTEUR NICOLAS J. FIRZLI M. NICOLAS J. FIRZLI, Climate: Renewed Sense of DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD PENSIONS COUNCIL (WPC), ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER, Urgency in Washington and Beijing WORLD BANK GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY (GIF) . In the months leading up to the 21st UN Climate Change Conference, policy makers, pension trustees and academic thought leaders have been active devising new ways of fostering private capital stewardship and “green investment”. t the 4th World Pensions ment offices for an unprecedented of Member-Nominated Pension ment consultants that advise them a Forum held in Paris at the end of 20141 , Robin Edme, President, Group of Friends of Paragraph 47, the Inter- Governmental Sustainable Deve- lopment Initiative, talked about the time) and the “mega drought” that hit California in the spring of 2015 (imposing severe water rationing across the state) brought home the ecological message to the “big boys”3 before the start of the 21st UN Climate Trustees (AMNT) held in London at Lane Clark & Peacock, Co-Chairs Barry Parr and Janice Turner unveiled their “Red Lines Voting” proposals- a major advancement in long-term capital stewardship in the must bring to blue-chip boardrooms the modern private equity mindset needed to “drive positive impact and make strong returns simultaneously”, thus identifying early on flaws in behavior in listed companies, and perceived “environmental and social Change Conference (2015 UN CCC world’s second largest pension mar- then addressing them forcefully by commitment” of governments and or ‘COP21’) that will be held in Paris ket, sending a strong message in engaging or divesting… institutional investors, reminding the in early December 2015. The stakes favor of “greening” and more forceful On June 18 2015, Pope Francis audience that “Scandinavia, Western are high: Prof. Daniel C. Esty, former investment governance. shocked neoconservative climate Europe, South Africa and some Latin Commissioner of the Connecticut Professor Gordon L. Clark, Chair skeptics by publishing a bold ency- American jurisdictions were usually Department of Energy and Environ- of the 3rd Stranded Assets Forum clical calling for the preservation considered as [already] well enga- mental Protection (DEEP) summed hosted jointly by the Oxford Univer- of “our Sister, Mother Earth”, thus ged in the issue, with some regional up the spirit of the time at the May 19 sity Smith School of Enterprise & echoing the Hellenistic ethics of the variations” 2015 2nd OECD Green Investment the Environment and The Roth- founding fathers of Western culture But as long as policy makers in Wash- Financing Forum: “the planet can- schild Foundation at Waddesdon and civilization5. These issues will be ington and Beijing didn’t put all their not survive another ‘success’ in name Manor, and his colleagues looked at further discussed at the 5th World political capital behind the adoption of only: COP 21 needs to bring more the chain of asset ownership from Pensions Forum held in Paris on ambitious carbon-emission capping private sector capital, investment dis- the perspective of institutional invest- December 2nd 2015 titled “Pension targets, the laudable efforts of other ciple, and technical expertise to the ment consultants (ICs) and the role & SWF Investment in Long-Term G20 governments often remained fore… governments cannot afford the “not only [they] have been playing, Assets in a Time of Economic Rea- in the realm of pious wishes: things fail-rate of venture capital!”. but also could come to play, in advan- lignment & Climate Disruption”. ! changed for the better on Novem- cing green investment practices and ber 12 2014 when President Obama EFFECTIVE ASSET products” 4. Catherine Howarth, (1) David Weeks and Nicolas Firzli, “4th and General Secretary Xi Jinping OWNERSHIP: UK PENSION Chief Executive, ShareAction, the Annual World Pensions Council Forum held in Paris”, Revue Analyse Financière N° 54 agreed to limit greenhouse gases TRUSTEES LEADING BY think-tank and advocacy group dedi- (Q1 2015): 10-11. emissions, with China committing for EXAMPLE cated to responsible investment, (2) David Nakamura and Steven Mufson, “China, U.S. Agree to Limit Greenhouse the first time to cap carbon releases The first semester of this year saw insisted on the active role of “citizen- Gases”, Washington Post, November 12, and the US unveiling a plan for dee- many positive developments – most beneficiaries” and the need for pen- 2014. (3) Nader, Ralph, and William Taylor. The per U.S. emissions reductions through notably in the UK, where pension sion funds to be “allies in the fight big boys: Power and position in American 2025 2 trustees and academic thought lea- against climate change”. business. Pantheon, 1986. (4) Caldecott, Ben, and Dane Rook. Sum- The record levels of pollution reached ders played an active part. At the Others, such as sustainability expert mary of Proceedings: 3rd Stranded Assets in Beijing in 2014 (shutting down February 25 2015 annual general Pierre Lenders, insist pension fund Forum. Oxford, 2015. (5) Renan, Ernest. L'église chrétienne. corporate headquarters and govern- meeting of the British Association executives and the institutional invest- Vol. 6. Calmann Lévy, 1879 JUILLET AOÛT SEPTEMBRE 2015 ANALYSE FINANCIÈRE N° 56