About

Introduction

The Alliance was initiated by Allianz, Caisse des Dépôts, La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Folksam Group, PensionDanmark and Swiss Re at the beginning of 2019. Shortly afterward, Alecta, AMF, CalPERS, Nordea Life and Pension, Storebrand, and Zurich Insurance joined as founding members. The Alliance is supported by WWF and Global Optimism, an initiative led by Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Why the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance?

• Asset Owners have a unique role in the global economy and financial systems. We can drive the development of industry best practice through our investment mandates.
• As pension funds and insurance companies, we have long-term investment horizons and liabilities. We are not only acutely vulnerable to the systemic disruptions that climate change will unleash on ecosystems, societies, and economies, but also have a key role to play in catalysing decarbonisation of the global economy and investing in climate-resilience.
• Recent years have seen an unprecedented surge in investor concern, rhetoric, and action on climate change, spanning the various spheres of influence that investors have at their disposal: their portfolios, their own transparency, and the regulatory frameworks established by public policy.
• As a result, many investor and asset owner initiatives focusing on climate change exist today. While many of these initiatives are worthwhile and deserve further strengthening and promotion, their respective impacts will benefit from greater alignment and coordination through a joint and lasting Asset Owner-led alliance.
• The Alliance will seek to work with and enhance a range of other existing initiatives, including:
  • Science-based Targets Initiative,
  • Climate Action 100+,
  • The Investor Energy & Climate Action Toolkit, and
  • The Investor Agenda.

How to achieve Paris alignment

The UN-convened Alliance will utilise state-of-the-art tools and align with various initiatives led by Asset Owners who have demonstrated leadership on the topic of decarbonisation. In more detail, potential actions would emphasise:

• Investor ambition and target-setting at portfolio level – reporting of contribution to progress in a sector-specific way
• Impact on the real economy and emissions – to the extent methodologies can be developed for this.
• Implementation via a holistic ESG approach for measuring and managing associated impacts.
• Joint engagement, and monitoring of engagements, based on the most authoritative, credible scientific input, to ensure consistency of messaging and necessary ambition. This will build on existing active ownership best practice already under development – such as ClimateAction100+.

Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance Secretariat

Jesica Andrews Investment Lead, UNEP FI Eliya Devay NZAOA Engagement Track Manager, UNEP FI Remco Fischer Climate Lead, UNEP FI; Co-head of NZAOA Secretariat Anna Irmisch Transition Financing Track Manager, UNEP FI Oliver Wagg NZAOA Communications Lead, UNEP FI

Teodora Cakarmis Communications Consultant, UNEP FI Claudia Florowski Net Zero Sector Pathways and Engagement Lead Consultant, UNEP FI Carolin Gresch Climate Change Team Consultant, UNEP FI Rafael Silvestre Specialist, Climate Technical Guidance, PRI