Nest going net zero to support green recovery
The UK’s largest membership pension scheme has announced a new climate change policy to decarbonise its investment portfolio with the aim of becoming net zero by 2050.
Nest, which has nine million members, is seeking to align itself with the Paris Agreement, and its new roadmap sets out a goal of being net zero across its investments by 2050 or earlier, with the expectation that carbon emissions in its portfolio will halve by 2030.
To achieve this, Nest is making a series of immediate commitments including moving £5.5 billion of shares into climate aware strategies, such as investing in green infrastructure. It will also begin divesting from companies involved in thermal coal, oil sands and arctic drilling.
Nest’s Chief Investment Officer Mark Fawcett says the announcement sends a strong message of the seriousness it places on tackling climate change. He commented: “Climate change poses serious risks to both our savers and their investments. It has the potential to cause catastrophic damage and completely disrupt our way of life. No-one wants to save throughout their life to retire into a world devastated by climate change. We have a unique opportunity to support sustainable growth and transition towards a low-carbon economy. We believe our new policy sets out a clear vision of where we’re heading. We’ll now work on taking the necessary steps to become net zero, using our close partnerships with fund managers to amplify our impact and coordinate activities towards meeting the Paris Agreement goals.”
