NEWS ANALYSIS: Lobby groups push for pension funds to think 'green' in their investment strategies
Just Share and Client Earth advise pension funds to analyse their exposure in companies whose activities pose a risk to climate change, especially coal operations
Lobby organisations Just Share and Client Earth have published a legal opinion urging retirement funds to take climate change into account when they invest. The lobbyist said this week they had written to more than 50 major SA pension fund boards asking them to analyse their exposure to investments that pose climate risks and to stop new investments into coal operations, among other things. Investment returns on retirement savings can be an emotional topic. Pensions are lifetime savings that most people put aside only because they made hard decisions like borrowing from a bank to fund their children’s education instead of ceasing contributions to their retirement funds. It is therefore not surprising that some funds may be chasing higher returns for their members by investing in sectors that are not environmentally friendly. After all, the JSE resources index returned 13% in 2018 while the JSE all-share index closed the year down 11.37%. PODCAST: Understanding the vulnerabili...
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