Responsible Investor

discuss climate change and potential investment solutions. The conference is hosted by the United Nations Foundation and Ceres, the institutional investor coalition, which directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of 60 institutional investors with collective assets of more than $4 trillion. Delegates in New York will listen to speakers including Al Gore and Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the International Energy Agency. A statement from the organisers on previous summits, said: “The information they shared raised profound concerns about investor exposure to climate risk, the future security of investment assets, and the fiduciary duty to take prudent steps to address climate risk on behalf of shareholders and beneficiaries.”
In November, 2007 Ceres led a coalition of US investors managing more than $1.4 trillion (€960bn) in assets in writing to the US Congress appealing for it to toughen up environmental standards and promote renewable energy.
*Proposals for a new multi-billion dollar international low-carbon technology transfer fund* proposed by UK, US and Japanese finance ministers at the G7 meeting of finance ministers of the biggest industrialized nations in Tokyo, appear to have met lukewarm support from other governments. A communique issued after the G7 summit said the group had “discussed” the idea, but there was no commitment from France, Germany, Italy or Canada to sign up to the fund. Work on the fund is expected to continue with a spokesperson for the World Bank telling Reuters that a formal announcement was expected soon following discussion with other UN agencies and the private sector. The aim of the fund will be to accelerate low

carbon investments in developing economies.
The state of Michigan is reportedly suing Tyco International in a US federal court on behalf of the $62bn Michigan Retirement Systems, according to US newspaper Pensions & Investments. It said the lawsuit said the fund had lost $50m because of alleged misconduct at Tyco, which it said had inflated its earnings and manipulated its books to hide excessive executive compensation. The fund is seeking $51m to $81m in damages.
Testimonies to the US Congress have suggested controls be placed on sovereign wealth funds investing in US financial services firms. Larry Wortzel, chairman of the US-China economic and security review commission told a congressional hearing on the implications of sovereign wealth fund investments for national security: “Some observers have questioned whether one nation’s sovereign investments could lead to influence over key industries, access to technology, or influence over another nation’s policies.” Sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East and Asia are estimated to have invested $44.3bn (€30.6bn) since 2006 in US financial services groups. Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers recently told an audience of business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that sovereign wealth funds should sign up to a ‘responsible’ code of conduct.
The £10bn (€13.4bn) Strathclyde Pension fund, the UK’s largest local government pension scheme, has said it is signing up to the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment.
Studies published in the journal Science have

Not a member? Register here »