December 20, 2013 — A survey of 1,000 of the world’s largest investment funds by the Asset Owners Disclosure Project suggests that a large number are vulnerable to a “carbon crash” — a loss in investment value that would occur if climate change considerations caused businesses to leave fossil fuel reserves in the ground rather than extract them.
According to the Daily Climate, of 458 asset owners responding to the survey, 431 failed to meet the project’s standard for responsibly managing climate risk. The survey considered a number of factors, including transparency, risk management and low carbon investment.
The Daily Climate reported that AODP board member Sharan Burrow called the situation outrageous. “It must be remembered that much of the money being held by these organizations is the product of workers’ lifelong savings,” she said.
Executive director Julian Poulter found hope, however, in the actions of the companies that did hit the mark.
“What is clear is that the world has an investment system capable of driving the low carbon transition,” he said. “If all the funds we surveyed has a triple AAA rating, we would be well advanced on meeting the global climate challenge upon us.”
Photo by Images_of_Money (Creative Commons | Flickr)
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