€11trn investor group make Cancun climate change plea

A group of 259 investors with combined assets of more than $15trn (€11.1trn) have called for policies to “unlock the vast potential” of low carbon markets ahead of a key climate change summit in Mexico later this month.

They said that the deal flow and investment needed to move to a low-carbon economy is falling short. “There is a significant climate investment gap,” the group stated.

“Investors need domestic and international measures that provide relative long-term certainty about the direction of clean energy and climate policies and financing,” the statement says.

They called for multilateral development banks and other development finance institutions to apply “risk-reducing finance tools” to assist market development and scale up private investment.

They conclude: “Investors are looking for more stablepolicy frameworks, supported by reliable political systems.” The investors – from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, Latin America and North America – made their statement ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun, where the replacement for the Kyoto Protocol is due to be thrashed out.

United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment Chairman Donald MacDonald said the talks are an opportunity to start framing an agreement needed to create a sustainable investment environment.

The statement was prepared by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the Investor Network on Climate Risk, the Investor Group on Climate Change Australia/New Zealand, and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative. It’s the largest ever group of investors to call for government climate change action.