Swedish delegation participated on the G20 and B20 meetings on green finance

The G20 has set up a new working group for green financing in order to lift the financial system’s importance in a sustainable development. As Sweden’s policies and market development in green financing is considered very interesting and relevant, a Swedish delegation was invited to participate on the G20 working meeting and policy session in London at the end of March.

The delegation included representatives from the Swedish government and a number of leading Swedish market operators, including AP4, represented by CEO Mats Andersson.

The discussions on the meeting addressed, among other things, how a global green bond market can be developed and how the global financial system can contribute to a green transformation, especially in mobilizing resources for the ambitious climate agreement from Paris.

AP4's administration is constantly working to, among other things, develop and invest in different strategies and contribute with their knowledge about low-carbon strategies and green bonds. Low carbon strategies are strategic positions with a long-term investment horizon. Investments are judged to significantly reduce climate risk in AP4's equity portfolio, allowing for a positive return over the long-term.

The reason for these investments is that emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases affect the earth’s climate negatively, which over time leads to an increase of the average temperature. AP4 believes that the cost of discharges on the environment is only taken into account to a limited extent in the current valuation of listed companies, and estimates that it will likely look different in the future.