On the go: Scottish Widows is the latest pension company to pledge to become carbon neutral by 2050, while calling for action in the industry.
In the meantime, the provider has committed to halving the carbon footprint of all its £170bn investments by 2030, while investing in climate solutions such as renewable energy, low-carbon buildings, and energy-efficient technologies by 2025.
Despite some progress being made, pension funds have so far only pledged £177bn in commitments to net-zero by 2050, with a crucial interim target of 50 per cent CO2e reduction by 2030, in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change findings, the provider stated.
Scottish Widows’ commitment almost doubles this total to £347bn, but there remains a £2.17tn gap, it stated.
The provider is calling on the rest of the industry to urgently close the “green gap” and commit to net-zero.
Maria Nazarova-Doyle, head of pension investments at Scottish Widows, argued that the “pensions industry holds trillions of pounds’ worth of investments and can play a game-changing role in supporting the global economy’s transition to a low-carbon future, while earning sustainable returns for pension savers”.
“We are making steady progress as an industry, but it’s not fast enough. The reality is we still have a very long way to go to close the green gap to net zero,” she said.
“To help prompt the shift to a low-carbon economy, others within our sector must also make meaningful, large-scale net-zero commitments, which include a dramatic reduction in emissions, if we are to have a chance to get to net-zero by 2050.”
