At an event later today, Andy Briggs, Group CEO of Phoenix Group is set to deliver a Keynote Speech in which he will highlight how the insurance sector has an instrumental role to play in the fight against climate change.
Speaking at The Power of Pensions: Accelerating Action Towards Net Zero, Briggs will be calling for urgent action at scale in three key areas.
- Ahead of COP26, for organisations globally to set robust and ambitious near term science-based emission reduction targets.
- Greater collaboration across the finance industry, with a broad range of stakeholders working together to decarbonise portfolios and finance climate solutions at scale.
- Change in government policy and financial regulation to unlock the trillions of pounds of private investment required for the transition to a low carbon economy
Phoenix Group supports the priorities of phase one of the Government’s Green Finance Roadmap which has just been published, which will have a crucial role to play in driving forward essential business action on climate change. Briggs comments:
“As an asset owner with £300bn of investments that we have committed to align to net zero, we believe that net zero transition plans are vital for all organisations, and that transparency of data and consistency of reporting are key if we are to succeed in the challenge of decarbonising our investment portfolio and giving consumers confidence that real action is being taken and reported in a robust way.
“The publishing of the first phase of the roadmap is very timely as today we are hosting an event with experts from across the financial sector to consider the power of pensions and how we can accelerate action towards net zero.
“COP26 will be an important milestone on the journey to net zero, but the real work will start after it. The next decade is going to be critical and we need to act with urgency, and at scale. Only by working together across our industry, and with a broad range of stakeholders, will we be able to bring about the investment and change that is required.
“At Phoenix Group, we are committed to playing our part in creating a green and sustainable future. We have set, and will deliver against, robust and ambitious net-zero targets, using our £300 billion of assets under administration to help finance the transition and engaging our customers to invest in a sustainable future.
“But we know we will achieve little on our own, and we have a once in a lifetime opportunity to work collaboratively towards controlling the effects of climate change. The finance industry is a key part of the solution, with the potential to provide trillions of pounds of private investment to support the transition to a low carbon economy. It is vital that, as an industry, we demonstrate clear accountability.
“There remains much to do, but I am confident that together, we can accelerate action towards net zero, and demonstrate the power of pensions.”
