Climate Change Investors React To Presidential Election Result

In response to Trump’s election as 45th President of the US, Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of the Insitutional Investors Group on Climate Change (a forum of 128 investors with more than €13Trn AUM), said the following:

“Investors are predictably concerned that the extraordinary result of the US election risks uncertainty around the political agenda on climate. However, we believe the urgency implied by the latest science and the economic imperative for action will continue to inform growing efforts by investors to manage climate risk assertively and to seize the opportunities presented by the need to secure a swift and smooth transition to a low carbon economy.
“The pace and scale of change already underway in the global economy is remarkable and irreversible: for instance, renewables have already over-taken coal as a global power source, electric vehicles are the growth segment of the auto industry and jobs are being created in clean energy sectors faster than any other. Moreover, this shift is already highly visible in the US economy, where major new investment in renewables is driving significant job creation in places like Texas, the heartland of oil and gas.

“Global investors have worked hard to help build the considerable political momentum that has accrued around the climate agenda – not least through the Paris Agreement coming into force on 4 November and the Kigali Amendment on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Big investors from Europe, the US, Australia and Asia will be in Marrakesh over the coming days to reinforce one key message: like countries, businesses and cities across the globe, a growing number of investors are taking swift action to address the climate crisis and to drive the transition to a low-carbon economy.

“ On a wider political stage we will also continue to press the G20 nations to double global investment in clean energy, tighten climate disclosure mandates, develop carbon pricing and phase out fossil fuel subsidies.”