Denmark’s PKA and PGGM in the Netherlands have put out a joint report calling on governments to help investors in their efforts to mitigate climate change.

Both pension providers said addressing climate change was a key area of focus for them.

“Because of our long investment horizon, we need to consider and prepare for scenarios that potentially have material impact on our investment portfolios in the long run,” they said.

Climate change was an important factor in those scenarios, they said. 

The two providers are suggesting several ways investors and policymakers could respond to the problem of climate change, such as forging closer cooperation between public and private parties to create a stable investment environment.

The providers also said they strongly advocated mechanisms that put a price on carbon, arguing that this was the best way to shift capital and knowledge towards the most efficient solutions.

Peter Damgaard Jensen, chief executive at PKA, said: “If we are to increase our green investments substantially, we need policymakers to commit to ambitious climate goals and provide investors with attractive incentive structures.”

He said he hoped the joint report would add to the debate at the upcoming COP21 climate conference in Paris.

Else Bos, chief executive at PGGM, said that, in order to meet the ambition of its largest client PFZW, PGGM would will quadruple investments in “solutions for climate change” in the coming four years.

It has already taken important steps towards that goal, she said.

“These steps have convinced us accommodating policies and regulation are essential to meet these ambitious targets,’’ she said.

The funds also said there was a need for “innovative de-risking models”, which mixed public and private finance, to solve the problems of climate-related investment in developing countries, such as high political and financial risks.

Topics