Investors Representing $13 Trillion Call on U.S. and Other Countries to Move Quickly

New York, 14 January 2010 -On the heels of international climate treaty talks in Copenhagen, the world's largest investors today released a statement calling on the U.S. and other governments to move quickly to adopt strong national climate policies that will spur low-carbon investments to reduce emissions causing climate change.

Private-sector investors will likely be responsible for financing more than 85 percent of the global transition to a low-carbon economy.

Saying "we cannot wait for a global treaty," U.S., European and Australian investor groups representing $13 trillion in assets called on U.S. Congress and other global decision-makers "to take rapid action" on carbon emission limits, energy efficiency, renewable energy, financing mechanisms and other policies that will accelerate clean energy investment and job creation.

Investors made clear today that there are competitive advantages for countries with comprehensive climate and energy policies.

The investor statement was announced at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk, a meeting of 450 global investors at the United Nations that included UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, United States Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern, billionaire investor George Soros and former Vice President Al Gore.

"Investors are poised and ready to scale up investments in building the low carbon economy, but without policies that create a stable investment environment our hands are tied," said Anne Stausboll, chief executive officer of the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the nation's largest public pension fund with more than $205 billion in assets. "U.S. leadership is critical in this regard, including U.S. Senate action to limit and put a price on carbon emissions."

"What investors need most from national and state legislatures are transparency, longevity and certainty," said Kevin Parker, global head of Deutsche Asset Management and member of Deutsche Bank's Group Executive Committee. "Until the U.S. Congress passes climate regulation, America will be at a competitive disadvantage in the development of renewable energy and other climate change industries."

The Investor Statement on Catalyzing Investment in a Low-Carbon Economy was endorsed by four groups representing more than 190 investors. The groups are the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). The statement is available at www.ceres.org

The financing commitments made at the recent climate change negotiations in Copenhagen focused major attention on the importance of catalyzing public and private investment at the scale required to effectively address climate change. Studies show that trillions of dollars of additional investments are needed globally over the next 20 years to curb greenhouse gas emissions - and that more than 85 percent of those investments will likely have to come from private investors such as those attending today's summit.

To catalyze such investment, the investor statement calls on national governments to immediately adopt or support:

Investors made clear today that there are competitive advantages for countries with comprehensive climate and energy policies. "Germany's comprehensive policies, for example, have sparked significant private investment in industries focused on addressing climate change, leading to eight times more renewable energy jobs per capita than the United States," the investor statement says.

While emphasizing the importance of national policy action, the statement also calls on international negotiators to adopt a legally binding agreement this year with comprehensive long-term measures for carbon reductions; forest protection, adaptation to warming temperatures, finance and technology transfer.

Today's climate investor meeting was hosted and organized by Ceres, the United Nations Foundation and the United Nations Office for Partnerships. A webcast of the summit and press conference can be found at www.un.org/webcast

Participants at today's all-day summit at the UN offered strong support for the investor statement.

"As powerful as these investors are, they can't underwrite a clean energy transformation at the critical scale needed without clear rules only government can provide," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres and director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk. "Government policy can make clean energy costcompetitive by leveling the playing field with fossil fuels. Only government policy provides the long-term certainty that can turbo-charge private investment in clean energy, address the climate change threat and protect our planet."

"Nations that address the energy challenge most effectively will quickly realize huge global economic opportunities. The race is on and there's a need for speed," said Pennsylvania State Treasurer Rob McCord, who joined Lubber and other leading investors in announcing the investor statement at the UN today.

"Many of the most immediate impacts from global warming are affecting the poorest countries, which are least responsible for the problem and least prepared to adapt," said Timothy E. Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation. "To keep the rise in global temperatures to acceptable levels, the world will require a huge increase in capital investment for low-carbon infrastructure in developing countries (where most of the global energy growth will occur in the next 50 years). Most of this investment will have to come from the private sector - financial leaders like those participating in today's summit."

"Some 85 percent of the financial resources needed to cope with climate challenges must come from private sources. In effect, the battle over climate change will be won - or lost - in the hands of private investors," said Bjarné Graven Larsen, Chief Investment Officer, ATP, Denmark's largest institutional investor. "In order to play this role effectively, strong, stable and credible policy frameworks are crucial. We are waiting for policymakers to deliver."

"Given that Copenhagen was a missed opportunity to create one fully functional international carbon market, it is more important than ever that individual governments implement regional and domestic policy change to stimulate the creation of a low carbon economy," said Peter Dunsombe, chairman of the IIGCC, a network of European investors. "Time is of the essence and world leaders from both developed and developing countries need to act now to compensate for the lack of progress at an international level."

"Investors have a critical role in helping drive the new clean energy economy forward," said Amir Dossal, executive director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. "National governments can provide an enabling environment, including sound climate and energy policies, to encourage investors to use their capital to advance large-scale solutions for a low-carbon economy, leading to sustainable development. We must develop innovative public-private partnerships to bring about this change."

"Sustaining the momentum on combating climate change and delivering a legally-binding treaty in 2010 represent two of the big challenges of the year in terms of achieving sustainable growth and poverty reduction," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director. "This statement underlines that investors, representing trillions of dollars of assets, remain firmly focused and resolved on realizing a lowcarbon, resource-efficient green economy.

Governments should swiftly act on the pledges and promises made at the meetings in Copenhagen in respect to emissions reductions and finance."

Ceres is a leading U.S. coalition of investors and environmental groups working with companies to address sustainability issues such as climate change. Ceres also coordinates the Investor Network on Climate Risk, a North American network of 80 institutional investors focused on the financial risks and investment opportunities from climate change.

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is a forum for collaboration on climate change for European investors. The group's objective is to catalyze greater investment in a low-carbon economy by bringing investors together to use their collective influence with companies, policymakers and investors. The group currently has over 50 members, representing assets of around - 4trillion.

The IGCC represents institutional investors operating in Australia and New Zealand, with assets around AU$500bn, and others in the investment community interested in the impact of climate change on investments.The IGCC aims to ensure that the risks and opportunities associated with climate change are incorporated into investment decisions for the ultimate benefit of individual investors.

UNEP FI is a global partnership between UNEP and the financial sector. Over 170 institutions, including banks, insurers, fund managers and investors, work with UNEP to understand the impacts of environmental and social considerations on financial performance.

Any doubt about how far the eviros have infiltrated should be answered.

IT’S ALL ABOUT MONEY.

They want us to bail out the European Union. OH HELL NO.

IIGCC Constitution
Background
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) was established in 2001 as an opportunity for collaboration between asset owners and asset managers to address the investment risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

In 2005, IIGCC merged its operations with The Climate Group (TCG) to become a semi-autonomous programme within TCG, retaining its identity through the Steering Committee but with day-to-day management carried out by TCG under a Memorandum of Understanding. IIGCC has appointed a programme director in association with TCG to strengthen operational capability.

Strategic Aim
To identify, promote and demonstrate competence throughout the investment process in assessing and actively managing the risks and opportunities relating to climate change and the transition to a secure climate system.

Strategic Objectives
To equip members with the knowledge and tools to assess, engage and actively manage the investment implications of climate change on the assets they own in order to preserve and enhance their value.

To act as champions for the integration of climate risk and opportunities into the everyday functioning of the investment community.

To advocate public policy and market solutions that ensure an orderly and efficient transition to a secure climate system which is consistent with long-term investment objectives.

..................................

The Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) is a collaboration of Australian and New Zealand investors focussing on the impact that climate change has on the financial value of investments.

The IGCC recognise that the financial return of an investment is impacted by climate change. As such, the IGCC aims to ensure that the risks and opportunities associated with climate change are incorporated into investment decisions for the ultimate benefit of individual investors.

The IGCC will achieve this by building a forum through which it will:
Raise awareness of the potential impacts, both positive and negative, resulting from climate change to the investment industry, corporate, government and community sectors;

Encourage best practices approaches to facilitate the inclusion of the impacts of climate change in investment analysis by the investment industry; and

Provide information to assist the investment industry to understand and incorporate climate change into the investment decision.

......................

U.N.E,P Finance Initiative

BETHESDA, Md. — Calvert (www.calvert.com), one of the nation’s largest families of socially responsible mutual funds, announced today that Dr. Julie Gorte, Calvert’s Vice President and Chief Social Investment Strategist strat·e·gist
n.
One who is skilled in strategy.

Noun 1. strategist - an expert in strategy (especially in warfare)
strategian

market strategist - someone skilled in planning marketing campaigns , has been elected co-chair of the UNEP UNEP United Nations Environment Program(me)
UNEP Unbundled Network Element Platform
UNEP University of Northeastern Philippines FI Asset Management Group.

The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative, founded in 1991, is a unique global partnership between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the private financial sector. UNEP works with more than 160 financial institutions and organizations to develop and promote linkages between the environment, sustainability and financial performance.
..........................

Mindy S. Lubber JD, MBA
Director

Email: lubber@ceres.org

Mindy S. Lubber is the Director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), as well as the President of Ceres, a leading U.S. coalition of investors and environmental leaders working to improve corporate environmental, social and governance practices.

Lubber has held leadership positions in government as the Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in the financial services sector as Founder, President and CEO of Green Century Capital Management, an investment firm managing environmentally screened mutual funds, in the private sector as the President of an environmental law and policy consulting group and in the not-for-profit sector for more than a decade leading environmental and public interest law organizations, including the National Environmental Law Center, which she founded. Lubber is an attorney and holds an MBA degree.

Dan Bakal
Director, Electric Power Programs

Email: bakal@ceres.org

Dan Bakal is responsible for INCR’s work with electric power companies, overseeing research, working with shareholders on corporate negotiations, and furthering the understanding of environmental risks - with a particular focus on climate risk - faced by the electric power sector.

In 2002, Bakal developed and launched the Electric Power Dialogue, a working group of electric power companies, institutional investors, environmental NGOs, and analysts that focuses on taking action on climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector. In 2003, the Dialogue published a report containing several recommendations, including a mandatory nationwide cap on carbon dioxide.

Bakal also coordinates Ceres’ Northeast & Canada program, aimed furthering awareness of and action on climate change in Northeastern states and Canada.

Prior to his current position, Bakal served as Ceres’ Director of Outreach, encouraging companies to endorse the Ceres Principles, our ten-point code of conduct on environmental performance.

Before joining Ceres, Bakal worked for several nonprofit environmental and social service organizations, including Rocky Mountain Institute, the Colorado Center for Environmental Management, and Northeastern Family Institute. He has experience consulting with companies to improve their environmental performance, researching trends in corporate social responsibility, and using collaborative decision-making processes to help diverse parties reach consensus. Bakal graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

Rob Berridge
Senior Manager, Investor Programs

Email: berridge@ceres.org

Rob is Program Manager in the investor team at Ceres, where he assists investors and companies in addressing the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. Rob helps coordinate various projects of the Investor Network on Climate Risk. Prior to Ceres, Rob served as a board member and Vice President of Green Century Capital Management and as a staff member of US EPA’s Green Lights and Energy Star Programs. He has also worked in commercial lending, as an environmental consultant, and for various recycling organizations. Rob has a degree in Environmental Studies from Brown University and a Masters in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Betsy Boyle
Manager, Real Estate Programs

Email: boyle@ceres.org

Betsy is responsible for developing the program content for Ceres’annual conference, including plenary sessions and workshops. In addition, she coordinates Ceres’ work to promote energy and resourceefficiency in buildings by working with real estate investors and companies to change the way buildings are designed, constructed, and operated. Prior to this position, Betsy directed the first phase of development of Nexus, a green building resource center in downtown Boston, and from 2000 to 2005 was the director of operations at Ceres and managed finances and administration for the organization. Before that, she worked at the Harvard School of Public Health for seven years in development and administration.

Betsy recently received a Master of Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she was a Public Service Fellow. She has been a LEED Accredited Professional since 2004.

Jim Coburn
Senior Manager, Investor Programs

Email: coburn@ceres.org

Jim Coburn is a Program Manager at Ceres. He works with institutional investors to improve corporate environmental practices, organizes training workshops for investors, and produces Ceres publications on climate risk. In addition, he manages campaigns to promote mandatory corporate climate risk disclosure and to help investors engage with asset managers to address this risk.

Before joining Ceres, Jim worked for Morgan Stanley, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Co-op America. He holds a BA in Government from Cornell University, a JD from Boston College Law School, and is a member of the Massachusetts Bar.

Peyton Fleming
Communications Director

Email: fleming@ceres.org

Peyton Fleming oversees external communications, media relations, outreach materials and the website for INCR. He joined Ceres in fall 2004, after working for six years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s New England Office in Boston. He has an extensive background in journalism, covering the environment, business and various other issues for more than a decade at such newspapers as the Providence Journal and the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, Mass. He has won several environmental and business reporting awards. Fleming has a B.A. in Intercultural Studies from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.

Chris Fox
Director, Investor Programs

Email: fox@ceres.org

Chris Fox is Director of Investor Programs for INCR. Fox has played a central role in organizing the Institutional Investor Summits on Climate Risk at United Nations Headquarters in both 2003 and 2005, and in coordinating Summit follow-up activities. He is co-author of Questions and Answers on Climate Risk for Investors (2004). Fox has overseen the production of several Ceres reports, including “Value at Risk: Climate Change and the Future of Governance” (2002) and “Corporate Governance and Climate Change” (2003). He has coordinated Ceres’ programs aimed at organizing shareholders on climate change since 1998. In addition, in 1997 and 1998, Fox led the development team for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) project of Ceres.

Before joining Ceres, Fox served as a program associate at the Heinz Family Foundation in Washington, D.C. and was executive director of the Center for Environmental Citizenship. Fox’s professional experience includes working for the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Harvard University Committee on the Environment, the Environmental Leadership Program, and organizing the international Campus Earth Summit at Yale. Fox has conducted research on the responses of the world’s religions to the ecological crisis and received a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree from Harvard University. Fox graduated with honors from Yale University (B.A.).

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Investors Representing $13 Trillion Call on U.S. and Other Countries to Move Quickly to Adopt Strong Climate Change Policies

"Cannot Wait for a Global Treaty," Investors Tell Congress and other Government Policymakers at United Nations Investors Climate Summit