700 investors, responsible for over $68 trillion in assets under management, are engaging companies on improving climate change governance, cutting emissions and strengthening climate-related financial disclosures.
The work of the initiative is coordinated by five regional investor networks: the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC), Ceres, Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). It is supported by a global Steering Committee.
Launched in December 2017, Climate Action 100+ garnered immediate worldwide attention. Designed by investors for investors, the initiative aims to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change.
[Climate Action 100+ investors] … have committed to engage with the world’s largest corporate greenhouse [gas] emitters to improve their climate performance and ensure transparent disclosure of emissions … they are betting on green because they understand this is the path to prosperity and peace on a healthy planet. The alternative is a dark and dangerous future.
The initiative was formed in the wake of the 2015 Paris Agreement, a global accord signed by nearly 200 countries (and ratified by 170), aiming to keep the increase in global average temperatures to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and pursuing efforts to limit warming further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The investor signatories of Climate Action 100+ believe that engaging and working with the companies in which they invest, to secure greater disclosure of climate change risks and robust company emissions reduction strategies, is consistent with their fiduciary duty and essential to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Climate Action 100+ has become the largest ever global investor engagement initiative on climate change, with growing influence and impact. Since launch Climate Action 100+ has experienced 170+ percent growth in investor participation. Investors working through the initiative are now engaged across 33 markets and represent over 50 percent of all global assets under management.
THE STEERING COMMITTEE
Climate Action 100+ is overseen by a global Steering Committee that establishes initiative strategic priorities, governance and infrastructure. The committee also reviews companies that have been subject to a corporate action and decides on a case-by-case basis if they should be removed from the focus list. Regional investor networks are responsible for submitting any revisions to the focus list to the Steering Committee, listing the reason for change. These can include merger, acquisition, bankruptcy or delisting.
The Steering Committee comprises five investor representatives and the heads of five investor networks. In recognition of the global nature of the initiative and the different priorities and conditions for company engagement in each region, the roles of Steering Committee Chair and Vice Chair rotate every six months between different regional representatives. Investor representatives are appointed by the five regional investor networks. The Steering Committee’s work is supported by a series of working groups including: Strategic Projects Working Group; Engagement Coordination Working Group; Communications Working Group; Governance Working Group, and the Fundraising Working Group.
