As a result of engagement led by Climate Action 100+ signatory investors, Glencore has agreed to align its business and investments with the goals of the Paris Agreement (to limit warming to well below 2 degrees and to achieve net zero emissions in the second half of the century).
This is a first for the mining industry. Importantly, Glencore has undertaken not to grow its coal production capacity.
Engagement with the company was led by The Church Commissioners for England, with active participation from Investec Asset Management and Kempen.
Members of the global Climate Action 100+ Steering Committee released the following comments.
“Climate change brings both risk and opportunity for investors. Keeping global warming to well below two degrees demands bold and urgent action from the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters,” said Anne Simpson, Climate Action 100+ global Steering Committee chair, and CalPERS Director of Board Governance and Strategy. “Glencore’s new commitments to its investors are a vital step forward in the path to align strategy with the goals of Climate Action100+.”
“Glencore’s commitment to work within the Paris Agreement is a significant step forward for the company. As engagement moves to the next stage we look forward to working with Glencore and the sector as a whole on reducing emissions across the value chain,” explained Stephanie Pfeifer, a member of the global Climate Action 100+ Steering Committee and CEO, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change.
“Glencore’s announcement is a significant step for the mining sector with potentially wide-reaching implications” said Emma Herd, a member of the global Climate Action 100+ Steering Committee and Chief Executive Officer of the Investor Group on Climate Change (Australia/New Zealand). “Investors will now be looking for more companies in the sector to align their business decisions with the Paris Agreement”.
“We are encouraged to see that Glencore has taken the positive steps to align its business strategy with the goals laid out by the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise and to achieve net zero emissions,” said Mindy Lubber, vice chair of the global Climate Action 100+ Steering Committee and CEO and President of Ceres. “As the first mining company to make such a commitment, we are hopeful that others in the sector and in other high-emitting sectors across the economy will follow suit.”
“We welcome this announcement from Glencore and think it will send a powerful signal to other companies about aligning their businesses to the Paris Agreement,” said Fiona Reynolds, a member of the global Climate Action100+ Steering Committee and CEO, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). “It also demonstrates the success of investor engagement. Both corporates and investors need to act now and with urgency on climate action.”
“This announcement from Glencore sets a significant precedent for the sector across all regions, ” said Rebecca Mikula-Wright, a member of the global Climate Action 100+ Steering Committee and Director, Asia Investor Group on Climate Change. “Investors will continue to work with companies and use this as an example of how low carbon transition strategies can be achieved.”
ABOUT CLIMATE ACTION 100+
Climate Action 100+ is an investor initiative to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change. More than 450 investors with more than $40 trillion in assets collectively under management are engaging companies on improving governance, curbing emissions and strengthening climate-related financial disclosures. The companies include 100 ‘systemically important emitters’, accounting for two-thirds of annual global industrial emissions, alongside more than 60 others with significant opportunity to drive the clean energy transition.
Launched in December 2017, Climate Action 100+ is coordinated by five partner organisations: Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC); Ceres (Ceres); Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC); Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). These organisations, along with five investor representatives from AustralianSuper, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), HSBC Global Asset Management, Ircantec and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, form the global Steering Committee for the initiative. Follow us on Twitter: @ActOnClimate100.