The founding partners of The Investor Agenda released today a new tool to enable institutional investors to step up action to tackle the climate crisis and accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy. The Investor Climate Action Plans (ICAPs) Expectations Ladder and Guidance aims to help investors navigate existing expectations and initiatives on climate change. It is inclusive and unique in that it sets out expectations for investors wherever they may be on their climate journey.
The release of the ICAPs Expectations Ladder and Guidance comes amid increasing global momentum of investors committing to work with their portfolio companies and policymakers to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, and to set interim reduction targets for 2025 and 2030. The founding partners of the Investor Agenda, which are AIGCC, CDP, Ceres, IIGCC, IGCC, PRI, and UNEP FI, have been mobilizing investors to make net-zero commitments through a number of Investor Agenda-endorsed initiatives including the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, Paris Aligned Investment Initiative, Science Based Targets initiative and United Nations-Convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance. A net-zero emissions economy by 2050 or sooner is necessary to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit average global temperature rise to no more than 1.5-degrees Celsius.
The ICAPs Expectations Ladder summarizes the key climate actions investors can take right now in the four interlocking areas of the Investor Agenda: investment, corporate engagement, policy advocacy, and investor disclosure. Governance is a cross-cutting theme across all four areas. The areas include Investment: Manage climate risks in investor portfolios and shift capital to value- creating businesses set to succeed in a net-zero future; Corporate Engagement: Engage companies to drive climate action and demonstrate real progress in line with a 1.5-degree Celsius future; Policy Advocacy: Advocate for policies aligned with delivering a just transition to a net- zero economy by 2050 or sooner; Investor Disclosure: Enhance investor disclosure to help stakeholders track investor climate action in line with a 1.5-degree Celsius pathway.
Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP and member of the global Steering Committee of the Investor Agenda, and Rebecca Mikula-Wright, Executive Director of the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, said: “The ICAPs Expectations Ladder and Guidance sets out a clear pathway for investor integration that leads to an ultimate goal of net zero that must be reached, wherever an investor may be on that journey. It will assist Asian investors on how they can take meaningful action to reduce their climate risk exposure and increase their allocations to the transitional investment solutions that are needed to address the climate crisis. By publishing a clear and robust climate action plan
using the ICAPs framework, and acting on it, Asian investors can be better positioned to seize the enormous investment opportunities that are being created by the transition to net zero.”
Mindy Lubber, CEO and President of Ceres and member of the global Steering Committee of the Investor Agenda,
said: “We call on all investors to publish climate action plans and join investors around the world in building a more just and inclusive net-zero economy. The ICAPs Expectations Ladder and Guidance will drive a positive climate ambition loop by sending a clear signal to investors, companies, governments and regulators that investors support ambitious climate action plans and policies, which can in turn unlock further climate action.”
IL BIOECONOMISTA 