London CIV has joined the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition to support its commitment to end tropical deforestation.
The global coalition aims to scale the market for emission reduction credits (ERC) from forestry programmes, with more than $1.5bn in corporate spending now committed to the initiative. ERC are earned by a company when it reduces air emissions.
The Local Government Pension Scheme pool has been named as one of the latest signatories to the global coalition alongside Volkswagen and H&M. The news comes during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, in Sharm El Sheikh.
Alison Lee, London CIV’s responsible investment manager, said: “Mitigating deforestation has become a very important stewardship theme for London CIV.
“We have signed the Financial Sector Commitment Letter on Eliminating Commodity-Driven Deforestation to support it and have mapped out our exposure to deforestation risks in our portfolio.”
Established at the World Leader’s Summit on Climate at COP26 in Glasgow, the LEAF initiative is being steered by the governments of the UK, Norway and the USA. Private sector companies such as Amazon and Nestlé have also shown support towards the coalition.
Lee also stated that the pension pool has signed up to the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure Forum (TNFD), with the emphasis being on ‘nature’ rather than ‘climate’.
“I am hoping the world leaders gathered in Egypt this week also recognise forestry and nature as a key initiative and going forward, ensure that tropical forests and its associated human rights are protected,” Lee added.
—————
FREE weekly newsletters
Subscribe to Room151 Newsletters
Room151 LinkedIn Community
Join here
Monthly Online Treasury Briefing
Sign up here with a .gov.uk email address
Room151 Webinars
Visit the Room151 channel
