UK - Some of the UK's largest pension institutions, including Hermes, USS and the LPFA have banded together to encourage companies and governments to cut global carbon emissions.

The statement on global warming, sponsored by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change's (IIGCC), was signed by some of Europe's largest pension funds and asset managers such as BNP Paribas Asset Management, Insight Investment, Morley Fund Management and Prudential Property Investment Managers. It follows the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.

The institutional investors will use their collective financial weight to pressurise companies and governments into reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as any investment decisions taken now will have a major impact on the world's climate.

Governments must lead the response to climate change with a framework that provides incentives and investment certainty to companies and individuals, the statement says, including emission targets and legislation. Asset managers and investment consultants will incorporate climate change risks and opportunities in their investment analysis and selection, while pension funds agreed to consider climate change issues when appointing asset managers.

Some pension funds such as the London Pension Fund Authority, the Environment Agency and the Universities Superannuation Scheme have already built these requirements into their investment management agreements.

Insight Investment's Head of Investor Responsibility Rory Sullivan sits on the IIGCC steering committee. He said: "We as institutional investors recognise that the long-term interests of the millions of savers whom we represent and the organisation they work for are inextricably intertwined with long-term climate issues and this Statement is about encouraging real change right now.

"We need an investment environment that provides an orderly shift to a low carbon economy so that we can ensure a more stable climate for current and future generations."

Full list of signatories:

BNP Paribas Asset Management
Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church
Co-operative Insurance Society
Ethos Foundation
F&C Asset Management plc
Greater Manchester Pension Fund
Hermes Pensions Management
Hounslow Pension Fund
Insight Investment
London Pensions Fund Authority
Morley Fund Management
Prudential Property Investment Managers
Universities Superannuation Scheme
West Midlands Pension Fund
West Yorkshire Pension Fund

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