Open letter to Finance Ministers in the Group of Seven

120 investor CEOs from around the world have written an open letter to finance ministers urging them to support the inclusion of a long-term emissions reduction goal in the international climate agreement due to be sealed in Paris in December.

The letter was initiated by the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), IGCC in Australia/New Zealand, Ceres/INCR in North America, AIGCC in Asia and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). AP4 has signed and supports a number of international initiatives promoting development in ESG, and both IIGCC and PRI are international organizations that AP4 supports.

At the UN conference in Cancun 2010, all UN governments agreed to limit the global rise in average temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius. 2015 is critical as the Paris summit COP21 is expected to deliver a global climate agreement. In the run-up to the meeting, countries have been asked to make their climate change plans public. However, many countries are late in submitting the plans.

Therefore the letter has been shared with ministers ahead of the 26-27th MAY meetings of G7 Finance Ministers in Dresden, Germany. As G7 countries represent a major share of global emissions – and have considerable influence in the UN climate process – the letter is initially directed to them.

In the letter, the CEOs are calling for a renewed signal of high-level political commitment, which includes:

1. A long-term global emissions reduction goal in the Paris agreement

2. The submission of short to medium-term national emissions pledges and country level action plans.