In March 2018, more than a dozen organizations, including Ceres, released the Green Bond Pledge to urge cities, regional authorities, states and companies to build into infrastructure and capital projects resilience to climate change and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – and to finance these projects when applicable using green bonds, which define how bond proceeds are being used and the environmental and climate benefits that will be generated.  Bond issuers have the opportunity to become a signatory to this pledge that affirms this attention to climate risk and the pivotal role the capital markets can plan in building a low carbon economy.  

Investors can send an important message to those who develop and finance long-term capital projects:  climate risk matters.  As these projects increasingly incorporate aspects of resilience and mitigation, the outcome will be better investments and another step toward building a low carbon economy.  

We invite you to support these goals by signing the Investor Statement of Support for Low Carbon Investment.

Investor Statement of Support for a Low Carbon Economy

The undersigned signatories to this statement understand:

  • Climate change poses a significant risk to society, the economy, and to the investments we make on behalf of our clients and beneficiaries.
  • The response to these risks requires a rapid transition to a low-carbon and climate resilient economy, demanding substantial investments in areas such as renewable energy, low‐carbon transport and technologies, water and sewage infrastructure, and in adaptation measures for communities and to improve existing infrastructure.
  • Climate-related risk will increasingly exert pressure on infrastructure and capital project integrity,
  • A large proportion of the mitigation and adaptation solutions required can be structured as investible assets, with yield and risk levels that are adequate to meet the needs of our clients and beneficiaries.
  • The growth of the international green bonds market provides a useful mechanism to finance solutions to climate change.

As investors, we believe that green bonds and other green asset classes represent an investment opportunity to fulfill our fiduciary duty to clients and beneficiaries in a responsible and sustainable manner.

We support the continued development of this market, in line with global best practice, and will invest in green bonds when investment characteristics are comparable and consistent with investment objectives.