According to UNEP, the 259 signatories represent the largest-ever group of investors to call for government action on climate change, or risk economic disruptions far more severe than the recent financial crisis.
16 November 2010: The UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Climate Change Working Group, together with partners, have called for national and international policies that will spur private investment into low-carbon growth and protect the world economy from the worst impacts of climate change, in a statement issued in the lead-up to Cancun.
According to UNEP, the 259 signatories represent the largest-ever group of investors to call for government action on climate change, or risk economic disruptions far more severe than the recent financial crisis. Signatories include both global players like Allianz and HSBC as well as many smaller institutions from developed and developing countries. The group from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, Latin America and North America, has collective assets under management totalling more than US$15 trillion, more than one-quarter of global market capitalisation
The statement calls for domestic policies in both developed and developing countries including: short-, mid- and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets; energy and transportation policies to accelerate deployment of energy efficiency, renewable energy, green buildings, clean vehicles and clean fuels; strong and sustained price signals on carbon emissions and well-designed carbon markets; phase out of fossil-fuel subsidies, as agreed to by G-20 leaders in 2009; adaptation measures to reduce unavoidable climate change impacts; and corporate disclosure of material climate-related risks.
Investors also hope to see agreements or progress in Cancun on the following: the financial architecture of climate funding, and a greater role for private investment; a rapid timeframe for implementation of efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) and REDD-plus; robust measurement, reporting and verification to increase confidence in national climate policies; expansion and deepening the international carbon market, including greater clarity on the future interplay of the Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation and emerging crediting mechanisms such as Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions and REDD-plus; support for the creation of well-functioning markets in developing countries for energy efficiency and renewable energy to accelerate effective large scale deployment of those technologies; and a clear mandate to adopt a legally binding agreement at COP 17 scheduled to convene in South Africa, in 2011. [UNEP FI Press release] [The Statement]