Global group of 415 investors demand immediate action on climate change

London, United Kingdom, 17 February 2019: A global group of 415 investors, managing USD 32 trillion in assets, have released a combined statement urging governments to accelerate their actions to mitigate climate change, the investors announced in a Press communiqué. The '2018 Global Investor Statement to Governments on Climate Change' reiterated their support of the Paris Agreement discussions during COP24, in H2 2018, in Katowice, Poland, the communiqué said. The group of global investors manages the funds of millions of beneficiaries around the world and urges governments to support and quickly adopt measures outlined in the Paris Agreement, the communiqué further said. The communiqué said the group warns that ignoring action against climate change could cause permanent economic damage up to four times the size of the 2008 financial crisis. The communiqué said that in order to mitigate the economic damage, the group of investors calls on global leaders to commit to three priorities:

• Quickly adopt and achieve the measures outlined within the Paris Agreement,
• Increase the rate of investment in renewable energies and speed up the transition to low-carbon economies; this would include adopting a price for carbon emissions, and
• Improve financial reporting on the impacts of climate change on businesses.

In order to limit global warming below two degrees C, compared to preindustrial levels, global economies must significantly and quickly curtail their emissions, the communiqué said. Schroders, a member of the global investor's group, warns that a temperature rise of four degrees C could cause USD 23 trillion in global economic losses over the remainder of the century, the communiqué further said. The United Nations Environment Programme says that the gap between real-world emissions and levels required to keep warming below two degrees C must be closed by 2030, in order to meet the goal, the communiqué added. The communiqué said that while countries, private companies, investors and NGOs all call for serious and urgent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, three nations have recently stalled the Paris Agreement talks. The communiqué further said the United States, Saudi Arabia and Russia oppose the Paris Agreement and deny humans are responsible for climate change. The communiqué added that these three countries represent the top oil and gas producing countries in the world, accounting for over 40% of global hydrocarbon production.