2012 Investor Summit on Climate Risk & Energy Solutions

On January 12, 2012, nearly 500 of the world’s investors and most powerful financial players gathered at the United Nations to showcase their actions and discuss promising trends to catalyze the large-scale investment needed to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate potentially catastrophic climate impacts.

While progress is being made, the investors, convened by Ceres and the Investor Network on Climate Risk, agreed that much more must be done to slow the pollution that is changing Earth’s climate and triggering a rise in disruptive weather events, from droughts and heat waves to extreme flooding. Fortunately many strategies for mitigating climate risks present attractive investment opportunities with potential for strong and sustained growth.

For more information, download the pdf Investors are Acting on Climate Change.

Watch a webcast of the entire summit below.

Investor Summit Webcast Part One (Morning)

Investor Summit Webcast Part Two (Afternoon)

At the 2012 Investor Summit on Climate Risk & Energy Solutions...

Leading members of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) announced the 2012 Investor Action Plan on Climate Risks and Opportunities at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk and Energy Solutions at the United Nations headquarters Thursday January 12. The 2012 Action Plan includes action items in three broad categories: investment practices; corporate engagement; and policy advocacy.

Also at the Summit on Thursday, Bloomberg New Energy Finance released new research data showing a record $260 billion in total clean energy investment in 2011, up five percent from $247 billion in 2010 and five times the total attained only seven years ago. Highlights of the ’11 data include a 36 percent surge in total investment in solar power to $136.6 billion and the U.S. overtaking China for the first time since 2008 in total clean energy investment. US investment was a record $55.9 billion, up 35 percent, while China saw investment rise just one percent to $47.4 billion.

New research by Deutsche Asset Management was also announced. The publication 2011: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly reports on trends in climate investments and policy in 2011.

Global investment consultant Mercer released Through the Looking Glass: How Investors are Applying Results of the Climate Change Scenarios Study, a progress report on how large institutional investors are addressing climate change, following on the climate change asset allocation study they released last year.

In a speech which ended with a standing ovation, Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO spoke about the urgency to address climate risks and build a low carbon economy, expressing the need for comprehensive climate legislation to address the climate challenge while also creating jobs.

Speakers Included:

Thomas P. DiNapoli New York State Comptroller	Roelfien Kuijpers Global Head, DB Advisors, Deutsche Asset Management	Mark Vachon Vice President, GE ecomagination

See a full list of speakers here...

View the complete agenda here...

About the Investor Summits

Since 2003, the biennial Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the United Nations has been the preeminent forum for leading institutional investors in North America, Europe and the rest of the world to discuss the implications of climate change for capital markets and their portfolios.

At the last Summit on January 14, 2010, more than 520 financial, corporate, and investor leaders with more than $22 trillion in combined assets highlighted the fact that private investment in climate change solutions is crucial for addressing the climate crisis and will not happen at the necessary scale without climate and energy policies that limit emissions and put a price on carbon.  The 2012 Summit will continue to drive forward this urgent agenda.