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Just over half therefore are ahead of schedule and are implementing the agreements in the Climate Commitment sooner than planned. This was the conclusion of a progress report prepared by KPMG that the Ministry of Finance has sent to the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Nederlands
The
financial sector is willing and able to play an encouraging and
supporting role in combating climate change, partly through the
approximately 3,000 billion euro in loans and investments that it
manages. To measure is to know: By measuring the CO2 impact of loans and investments, the institutions can apply concrete action plans (to be ready by 2022) to meet their CO2 reduction
targets. This may involve the funding of energy-saving projects,
engagement with businesses to urge them to improve their sustainability
and/or divestment in companies that are not doing enough to meet the
Paris targets. Work is also progressing on developing a common vision
for a “model action plan” on the basis of already existing best
practices. Lastly, the measurement methodologies used will be improved
to make the results of impact measurements better comparable.
The
letter accompanying the progress report also states other actions by
the signatories to contribute to the Paris Climate Agreement. Various
banks, Dutch asset managers and insurers have now joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance,
the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance or the Net Zero Asset Managers
Initiative. These international cooperative agreements represent
trillions in assets and collectively will combat the emission of
greenhouse gases to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Also, they will
bring the various portfolios of businesses in line with net zero
emission by 2050. Banks, asset managers, insurers and pension funds are
actively engaged in dialogue with businesses regarding climate policy,
including through the Climate Action 100+. This international
cooperation of around 600 investors and asset managers aims to bring the
operations of the 167 most carbon-intensive businesses in line with the
Paris Climate Agreement. In addition, various companies have announced
net-zero commitments, prompted by investors. One example of this is the energy company General Electric