Global investment funds that manage more than $15 trillion in assets have released a letter urging all nations to honor the CO2 emissions-reductions pledges they made under the 2015 Paris climate accords. The statement was released on the eve of a decision by the Trump administration on whether to withdraw from the Paris agreement.
The letter was signed by 214 institutional investors, including the California Public Employees Retirement System and national pension funds from Sweden to Australia. “As long-term institutional investors, we believe that the mitigation of climate change is essential for the safeguarding of our investments,” said the letter, addressed to the governments of the Group of Seven, which is meeting later this month in Italy and includes the U.S. “We urge all nations to stand by their commitments to the Agreement.”
President Trump will reportedly meet Tuesday with top energy, economic, and environmental advisers to decide whether to withdraw from the Paris treaty. Sources have said he is leaning toward pulling out of the global climate change agreement, although his daughter, Ivanka, is reportedly encouraging her father to honor the pact.
The Yale Project on Climate Change Communications has released public opinion surveys showing that 69 percent of registered U.S. voters believe that the U.S. should participate in the Paris agreement. The poll showed that nearly half of Trump’s own supporters favor U.S. participation.
