By Simon Jessop
LONDON (Reuters) -A flagship climate coalition for asset managers has dropped some targets for members, a document seen by Reuters shows, months after U.S. political pressure prompted BlackRock to leave and the group to suspend its activities.
The decision by the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative follows similar steps at sister groups for banking and insurance, all after attacks from Republican politicians who accused them of being in breach of antitrust rules.
The move comes days ahead of the COP30 climate talks in Brazil where many fund managers will gather at a series of events linked to the global effort to decarbonise the economy.
2050 NET-ZERO GOAL FOR INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS DROPPED
After BlackRock left January 9 citing confusion over the coalition’s climate efforts and legal inquiries from public officials, NZAM suspended its activities on January 13 and said it would launch a review.
In a statement on its website, the group said it had since consulted hundreds of stakeholders and the feedback was to “retain ambition, remain globally inclusive, and ensure the Commitment Statement continues to be practical within the evolving landscape”.
Among changes in the new ‘Commitment Statement’, the group has dropped any explicit requirement on members to reach net-zero emissions across their investment portfolios by mid-century and to set interim 2030 goals.
The new statement says members will provide clients with the information to understand and act on climate risks; support clients to reach their climate goals; and to set near-term goals consistent with the global net-zero goal, among others.
“The initial commitment was already extremely weak and non-binding; this development confirms the financial sector’s disengagement and the weakening of net-zero alliances,” said Christophe Etienne, net-zero researcher at non-profit Reclaim Finance.
(Reporting by Simon JessopEditing by Mark Potter)
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