Global Investment Firms Intensify Carbon Neutrality Demands... KCCI Hosts Climate Change Stewardship Seminar

Seoul Jung-gu Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Global investors are expected to intensify their demands for carbon neutrality from companies with high greenhouse gas emissions. This is because the 'Climate Action 100+,' the world's largest investor initiative demanding climate change responses from high greenhouse gas-emitting investment companies, is spreading.

On the 8th, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held an 'Investor Climate Change Stewardship Seminar' in Yeouido jointly with the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC). Climate change stewardship refers to the climate responsibility activities of investors such as pension funds and asset management companies. This seminar was organized to review global investor trends related to carbon neutrality and to explore ways to strengthen corporate carbon neutrality competitiveness through communication between investor groups and domestic companies.

'Climate Action 100+' is an investor-led initiative that demands global high greenhouse gas-emitting companies take necessary actions regarding climate change. Over 700 global investment institutions, including CalPERS, the largest US pension fund, Schroders, and BlackRock, participate. AIGCC serves as the Asia secretariat for Climate Action 100+.

At the event, Valery Kwon, AIGCC Director, who gave the keynote presentation, specifically introduced the achievements of Climate Action 100+ over the past five years, recent trends in corporate climate change response activities, and investors' demands related to climate change. Valery Kwon said, "Over the past five years, 170 global companies have worked to establish carbon neutrality goals aligned with the Paris Agreement," adding, "Going forward, companies will be required to establish climate change governance and actually implement net-zero targets."

The event was attended by key global investors such as Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of AIGCC; Dan Bienvenue, CIO of CalPERS; as well as Fidelity International, UBS Asset Management, and Mitsui Sumitomo Trust Asset Management.

Dan Bienvenue, CIO of CalPERS, said in his opening remarks, "The main performance of asset management depends on the ability to measure risk," and explained, "Climate change is the greatest risk across all asset classes, so it is necessary to focus on investments related to climate solutions such as renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements."

Following this, Rebecca Mikula-Wright, CEO of AIGCC, stated, "Leading Asian investment institutions are increasingly accepting climate stewardship as an important fiduciary duty," and added, "We can already see that investment institutions in most markets are actively engaging in climate solution investments."

In his welcoming remarks, Cho Young-jun, Director of Sustainable Management at KCCI, said, "In Korea's economic structure, which is centered on fossil fuel-based manufacturing and export-oriented industries, carbon neutrality is a challenging issue that requires transitioning to low-carbon production structures and switching to zero-carbon power and energy," emphasizing, "Because large-scale investments must accompany these changes and innovations, the role of financial institutions is more important than ever."

A KCCI official stated, "In the future, for our companies to receive investments from global investors, they must establish and implement a systematic carbon neutrality roadmap," and added, "KCCI will continue to actively support the industry's carbon neutrality implementation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.