Keva joins coalition of investors in appeal to G20 leaders

Finance and investment Responsibility
Finance and investment Responsibility

Keva, along with more than 450 other global investors, has issued an appeal to G20 leaders calling for action against climate change.

Keva’s engagement with national governments on climate change complements the organisation’s ongoing work with private sector actors.

“Climate change is a global challenge, and investors cannot resort to diversification to eliminate the systemic risk it represents,” says Kirsi Keskitalo, Head of Responsible Investment at Keva.

“This means that our efforts in this area need to be broad ranging with engagement on all levels. National governments around the world play a key role in creating an environment that allows businesses to take action against climate change,” she adds.

The appeal calls on G20 leaders, who are due to meet in Osaka, Japan during the last week of June, to meet their obligations under the Paris climate change agreement, promote more low-carbon investment within the private sector and commit to improved environmental reporting. The joint letter will form the basis for further projects planned for the United Nation’s Climate Change Summit in September and the COP 25 Conference in December. The appeal has been signed by 477 investors from around the world managing some USD 34,000 billion in assets.

In 2017, Keva was a signatory to a similar initiative. During the course of this year, the signatories’ have found a renewed sense of common purpose on the issue and a clear action plan is now in place.

For Keva, responsible investing means carefully managing pension assets in the long term. The risks and opportunities associated with climate change are part of Keva’s assessment of potential investments and many of Keva’s responsible investment objectives are associated with climate change. One of the key objectives is to increase influence. By working together, investors can bring about actual measures that can promote the objectives of the Paris Agreement in practice.

Further information:

Kirsi Keskitalo, Head of Responsible Investment, tel. +358 40 730 6657

Read more:

Keva responsible investment policy (pdf)

Keva responsible investment policy by asset class (pdf) 

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change: 477 investors with USD $34 trillion in assets urge G20 leaders to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius

The Investor Agenda policy advocacy

Keva is a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment since 2008 and a founder member of Finsif, Finland’s Sustainable Investment Forum. Keva is a member of the Green Building Council Finland since 2014. In 2018 Keva joined the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the largest group of investors working to stop climate change, and is a signatory to the global Climate Action 100+ initiative.