Thirty of the world’s largest asset owners, with portfolios worth a combined $5tn, have committed to cutting the carbon emissions linked to companies they invest in by up to 29% by 2025. Members of the UN-backed Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance which includes Aviva, Allianz, the $400bn US fund CalPERS and AXA will slash emissions linked to their portfolio companies between 16% and 29%, compared with 2019 levels. They will also identify the top 20 emitters in their portfolios and set goals for slashing emissions in key sectors including oil and gas, utilities, transport and steel. The group is hoping to avoid divesting from polluting firms, instead encouraging companies to reduce their emissions and help limit global temperature rises to 1.5ºC through reporting and business transition plans. Asset owners will set their individual targets in the first quarter of 2021. “Alliance members are sounding a very loud signal to the thousands of companies they own that deep emissions cuts are required,” the group said in a statement.

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The Guardian