16 September 2009: The International Investor Forum on Climate Change, the world’s largest investor forum, co-convened by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), met in New York, US, on 16 September 2009.

The Forum issued a joint call for a strong and binding international treaty on climate change that will reduce pollution and catalyze massive global investments in low-carbon technologies.
The statement was signed 181 investors, collectively managing more than $13 trillion in assets, making the investor statement the largest of its kind on climate change. Four leading investor groups on climate change coordinated the statement, including: the US-based Investor Network on Climate Risk; the European Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change; the Investors Group on Climate Change in Australia and New Zealand; and UNEP FI operating globally.
The statement calls for several elements to be included in a global climate change treaty, including a global target for emissions reductions of 50-85% by 2050 (1990 baseline), and developed country emissions reduction targets of 80-95% by 2050, with interim targets of 25-40% by 2020, backed up by effective national action plans.
A keynote address by British economist Lord Nicholas Stern noted that “building a low carbon economy creates opportunities for investment in new technologies,” which Stern said could “transform our society in the same way as the introduction of electricity or railways.” [UNEP Press release][List of signatories to the statement]