Key Impact Points:
- 534 investors managing over USD $29 trillion call on governments worldwide to enact comprehensive climate policies.
- The 2024 Global Investor Statement emphasizes the need for policy implementation at all levels to unlock private capital for a just transition.
- Investors seek action ahead of COP29, stressing the urgency to address the climate crisis with coordinated efforts.
In a groundbreaking move, 534 institutional investors and their representatives managing more than USD $29 trillion in assets have launched the 2024 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis. This most comprehensive investor call to date demands a whole-of-government approach to address the climate crisis, urging policy implementation at all levels.
Urgent Call Ahead of COP29
The statement comes one week before Climate Week NYC and will remain open for additional signatories until November 1st. It will be presented to governments at the UN Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, with the final list of signatures. Investors worldwide are encouraged to support this global call for government action.
Five Critical Policy Groupings
The statement calls for governments to enact policies across five critical areas:
- Enacting economy-wide public policies
- Implementing sectoral strategies, especially in high-emitting sectors
- Addressing nature, water, and biodiversity-related challenges
- Mandating climate-related disclosures across the financial system
- Facilitating private investment into climate mitigation, resilience, and adaptation in emerging markets and developing economies
“Investors recognize that policy mechanisms are essential to achieve a climate-resilient, net zero emissions economy by 2050 or sooner, with interim targets in line with credible 1.5°C pathways. Nonpolicy mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, sectoral strategies, and other collaborative efforts, should also play an important role in decarbonizing value chains and building out resilient electricity infrastructure,” the statement reads.
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Coordinated Global Effort
Coordinated by the Founding Partners of the Investor Agenda—Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, CDP, Ceres, Investor Group on Climate Change, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, Principles for Responsible Investment, and UNEP Finance Initiative—the global investor statement calls on governments to increase the ambition of their updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) due next year.
Voices from the Founding Partners
Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of AIGCC and IGCC and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, said: “With just five years to go before the critical 2030 milestone, this group of leading investors is making it clear to governments that the right set of strong policies will unleash a wave of capital to fund the climate solutions that the global economy desperately needs.
At COP29 policymakers will be deciding whether to accelerate the global shift to a climate resilient net zero economy or stay on the current trajectory of high-costs and lower economic growth. They pay attention to capital markets so now is the time for investors to join this call for the policies that will protect their economies.“
Pratima Divgi, CDP Head of Capital Markets, North America and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, stated: “We are fast approaching critical milestones on the journey to a net-zero, nature positive economy by 2050. The 2024 Global Investor Statement unites hundreds of investors on the essential policies needed to mobilize capital towards a climate positive future. It is invigorating to see this regionally diverse community of investors and financial institutions come together to urge action and we hope that governments around the world hear these voices.”
Mindy Lubber, CEO and President of Ceres and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, noted: “The 2024 Global Investor Statement underscores the urgent need for increased ambition to enact a whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis. These critical policies to tackle climate change and nature loss will unlock the private capital needed to accelerate the just transition to a resilient, low-carbon, nature-positive economy. With this powerful statement, investors and other financial institutions are united in making their voices heard and demanding action now from their government leaders.”
Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of IIGCC and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, commented: “This year’s Global Investor Statement—the most ambitious yet—sends a clear message from hundreds of investors to governments around the world for greater policy action to help unlock private capital to support the decarbonisation of the global economy. While there are notable examples of supportive policies underpinning government climate commitments, the new Global Investor Statement highlights the need for more comprehensive policies by calling for enhanced action on nature and emerging markets finance. COP16 and COP29 provide the ideal settings for governments to respond to investors’ asks.”
Bettina Reinboth, Director of Sustainability Initiatives at PRI and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, said: “PRI warmly welcomes the support from across the industry for the 2024 Global Investor Statement. We’ve heard clearly and consistently from our signatories around the world that, in order for them to accelerate their commitments on climate action, the sector needs to see the rapid evolution of an enabling policy environment. The policy measures called for in the Global Investor Statement are directly additive to this outcome, which stand to benefit not only investors and their ability to deliver returns on behalf of their beneficiaries, but also economies and societies the world over.”
Remco Fischer, Climate Lead at UNEP FI and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, emphasized: “We call on governments to submit more ambitious NDCs ahead of COP30 in Brazil while enabling a whole-of-government policy approach and industrial strategy to drive the low-carbon transition. Particularly important is the consideration of both climate and nature in the finance sector’s response to the global environmental crisis. Both contribute to key goals at COP29 this December, to scale climate finance and at COP16 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in November, to ensure climate and nature goals are ambitious and aligned.”
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