Moving To Net Zero

In this second episode, we look at important themes such as ‘net-zero. Joining Pat Sharman of CACEIS is Jessica Fries, who is the Executive Chair of Accounting for Sustainability, which was established by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Chandra Gopinathan, Senior Investment Manager at Railpen.

The more greenhouse gas emissions we push into the atmosphere, the greater the impact on temperature increases and global warming. Getting to net zero and beyond, to negative emissions, is important to stablise the climate. There was a real focus on net zero at COP26, the United Nations climate conference held in Glasgow in 2021. And in the build-up to COP26, many companies and pension schemes announced their net-zero commitments. 

Through this podcast, we unpack what net zero means and summarise some of the best practice concepts for pension schemes.

We look at the topic of disinvestment from higher emitting sectors or companies, which is a key discussion area for pension schemes and trustees, and outline why engagement is key.

Nature based solutions have also been growing, to help reduce carbon emissions. However, we explore why solutions such as carbon offset don’t work that effectively and why therefore, it’s important for pension schemes to focus on accelerating to absolute emissions reductions. 

How should pension schemes start on their journey to climate risk governance? We walk through some of the steps that pension schemes and trustees can take in establishing their governance framework and getting their hands on good quality data to assess their scheme’s total carbon emissions exposure from its investments.

And what are the key gaps? We delve into the importance of accounting standards to drive more transparency and disclosure. 

Finally, engagement with asset managers is also a key area of discussion. We cover concepts such as the coverage that asset managers have on the emissions impact across each company’s supply chain. 

A Whistledown Production for CACEIS