Australian pension funds turning green at investors’ insistence

After wildfires razed an area the size of England, custodians of the retirement savings are being asked to take steps to combat global warmingA firefighter watches the progress of bushfires in New South Wales, Australia. Picture: AAP IMAGE/VIA REUTERS/SHANE CHALKER

Outside of Australia, change is happening faster. Last month, BlackRock said it would exit debt and equity investments in thermal coal producers across its active portfolios. Last week, Europe’s largest pension fund, Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, pledged that its investments would be climate-neutral by 2050, while UK’s Brunel Pension Partnership in January threatened to fire managers that fail to curb exposure to climate change and position for a low-carbon economy.

That’s an approach Boston-based money manager State Street has adopted, recommending board members of firms that have been “consistently underperforming” peers in the asset manager’s ESG scoring system not be reinstated. A group of bushfire survivors banded with environment group Friends of the Earth in a legal claim against Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, accusing the lender of financing the climate crisis

The pressure on pension funds to take more decisive action is mounting. About 80% of Australians are worried about climate change, with the recent bushfire crisis intensifying concerns, according to a study last month of 1,033 people by The Australia Institute.Retail Employees Superannuation Trust, a fund for retail workers that manages about A$60bn, is being sued by one of its own members for not adequately assessing the impact of climate change on its holdings.

The broader finance industry isn’t immune either. Last month, a group of bushfire survivors banded with environment group Friends of the Earth in a legal claim against Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, accusing the lender of financing the climate crisis through funding for fossil-fuel projects, local media reported.To be sure, pension funds have made some inroads.

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