Today, Thursday, the European Parliament voted on new rules on occupational pensions (1). Thanks to the persistence of the European Parliament's negotiating delegation, sustainable and environmental criteria must be taken into account in future investments, as we Greens/EFA Group have proposed.
Sven Giegold, the Greens/EFA Group's financial and economic spokesperson, said: "The new rules on occupational pensions enshrine the phase-out of fossil fuels in European law for the first time. This is a great success to strengthen investments in sustainable products. In future, pension funds will have to take social and environmental standards into account when they invest. This will protect policyholders from heavy losses when the phase-out of fossil fuels comes. Customers will receive more and better information about the investments. The new rules are therefore good for customers and the climate. Pension funds must act now and exit fossil fuel investments."
(1) At present, occupational pension funds manage assets of around 3300 billion euros across Europe. When it comes to investments, occupational pension funds will have to pursue a divestment strategy in future, i.e. say goodbye to fossil fuels. They must invest customers' money according to social and ecological criteria and take good corporate governance into account. In the case of financial investments in fossil fuels, internal risk assessments must now mandatorily include any losses in value resulting from climate change. In addition, policyholders will receive more detailed information on their expected insurance benefits and on the costs of the pension fund.
Climate protection targets can only be achieved by investing in green technologies of the future and sustainable investment strategies / Energy Agency to support municipalities with divestment strategies in future.
"To be climate neutral by 2050, we not only need to make additional investments in green and innovative technologies of the future. Above all, we also need a shift from existing investments in 'brown' raw materials such as coal, oil and gas to 'green' climate-friendly technologies. The phase-out of fossil fuels must be global and rapid, in line with the goals of the World Climate Conference. Only in this way can we realistically achieve the climate protection goals. Churches, municipalities and also companies are setting new standards here and demonstrating the feasibility of the changeover in both ecological and economic terms," said Environment Minister Ulrike Höfken today at the event "Divestment and Sustainable Finance", which took place during the Climate Protection Weeks in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Höfken discussed new sustainable financing approaches together with Saori Dubourg, member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE and member of the Council for Sustainable Development, Oberkirchenrat Heinz Thomas Striegler, Head of Church Administration of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau and Chairman of the Working Group of Church Investors of the Protestant Church in Germany, as well as Christoph Bals, Political Director at Germanwatch e.V. and member of the Sustainable Finance Advisory Council of the German Federal Government.
According to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, the financial sector in particular has one of the greatest levers of influence in the short term to encourage other sectors of the economy to do more to protect the climate. The central tool here is divestment, a withdrawal of capital from markets and products that violate sustainability criteria, such as fossil-intensive industries, Höfken continued. "Rhineland-Palatinate is one of seven German states that has already passed a divestment resolution: The special assets of the state and the funds of state foundations are invested according to sustainable criteria," the minister explained. The Energy Agency Rhineland-Palatinate will support municipalities in the state in establishing divestment approaches in the future, Höfken announced. Here, the discussion is still in its infancy and further development in terms of content is necessary.
Whether municipalities, churches or companies: All players are called upon to examine their investment strategies and invest in a sustainable future. The City of Bonn is one of the pioneer cities with its path to sustainable financial investment. Carsten Buschmann, Head of Department at the City of Bonn, said: "The City of Bonn is pursuing a holistic approach that will be further expanded. Our experience in Bonn has shown that sustainable investing and returns are not mutually exclusive."
Climate Protection Weeks Rhineland-Palatinate:
During the Climate Protection Weeks Rhineland-Palatinate from 12 November to 11 December 2020, experts will discuss concrete instruments and measures against the climate crisis. From climate-efficient construction to climate funds and sustainable management, the events will highlight numerous approaches to achieving climate protection goals. In addition to top-class experts such as Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Prof. Claudia Kemfert or Christoph Bals, renowned companies and organisations such as BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim and the European Investment Bank, numerous national and international politicians from Germany, Luxembourg, Rwanda, Canada and the EU will be represented.
Detailed information on the climate protection weeks can be found at here
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