Whether you view the UN Climate Conference, COP26, held in Glasgow in November 2021, as a success, failure or something in the middle, it is clear there is a global shift in momentum towards combatting climate change. Limiting global average temperatures to 1.5°C – which is needed if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change (https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2865/a-degree-of-concern-why-global-temperatures-matter/) – has still been kept alive…but only just. What is needed now, on the ‘road from Glasgow’, is for companies, governments and the financial system to turn ambitions into actions – actions that will accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy and increase resilience in the face of growing climate shocks.

But what does this mean for the UK pension industry and what levers for change will be pulled in 2022? At our quarterly all-stakeholder event on 9 February, we were delighted to welcome Kerry Perkins, Head of Capital Markets, Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) to share her insights into the practical steps pension schemes and their service providers should be taking.

Joining her, to provide a trustee perspective, was Tegs Harding, from Independent Trustee Services Limited (ITS), and Cllr Doug McMurdo, chair of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum and member of the Bedford Pension Fund Committee, who shared their experiences of future proofing their pension schemes.

This was followed by a short Q&A and then our usual breakout room small group discussions.

To read the slides from the event, please click on the button below. To listen to the recording click here. 

Who was this event for?

This event was suitable for anyone involved in the governance or management of pension fund assets or other pools of assets and climate experts. For example, trustees of corporate defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, LGPS pensions managers and committee members, in-house pension teams, legal, actuarial and investment advisers, asset managers, other investment service providers and climate-research groups.

Agenda

The agenda for this online interactive discussion was:

1. Welcome from Pensions for Purpose and housekeeping.
2. Keynote presentation from Kerry Perkins, Head of Capital Markets, Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) followed by a ‘fireside chat’ with Tegs Harding, Director, ITS Ltd and CllrDoug McMurdo, chair of the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum and member of the Bedford Pension Fund Committee.
3. Questions.
4. Mixed breakout rooms moderated by our forum sponsors, Invesco and Redington, to discuss key questions.
5. Return to main meeting – sharing of key insights.

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