Abstract

Despite the decades of international climate negotiations and several landmark agreements, global efforts to date to restrict fossil fuel production in line with climate targets have been unsuccessful. As national and international policies continue to fall short of phasing out fossil fuels, increasing attention has been paid to non-state actors, like pension funds, as a potential source of more ambitious climate action. As major asset owners, large shareholders in fossil fuel companies, and historically activist investors, pension funds are theoretically well-placed to contribute to phasing out fossil fuels. Despite growing recognition of this potential role for pension funds and other major investors in climate change mitigation, there has been little attention to pension funds’ historical record on climate change, or to how their climate strategies have developed and changed over time. This paper examines how the climate strategies of the largest US and European pension funds have evolved in relation to key developments in international climate agreements and the extent to which these strategies contribute to restricting fossil fuel supply. Through an analysis of the annual, governance, and sustainability reports of 6 pension funds from 1997 to 2022, we examine the strategies pension funds have adopted to address both climate change and fossil fuels. Pension funds have demonstrated responsiveness to the signals of international climate agreements, adopting a range of strategies with respect to climate change (amongst others, integrating ESG principles, increasing their sustainable investments, and setting net zero goals). Their explicit attention to fossil fuels and contribution to supply-side interventions take the form of systematic shareholder engagement, (selective) divestment, and lobbying policymakers. While pension fund climate action is growing , the ambition of their strategies is not aligned with a rapid fossil fuel phaseout; their efforts are often focussed on improving disclosure and transparency and demonstrate complacency with minimal improvements from fossil fuel companies. If pension funds are to significantly contribute to phasing out fossil fuels, redefining pension fund responsibilities and the traditional shareholder role will likely be required.

中文翻译：

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养老基金和化石燃料淘汰：养老金气候战略的历史发展和局限性

摘要

尽管国际气候谈判已经进行了数十年，并达成了几项具有里程碑意义的协议，但迄今为止，全球根据气候目标限制化石燃料生产的努力尚未成功。随着国家和国际政策在逐步淘汰化石燃料方面仍然不够，人们越来越关注养老基金等非国家行为者，将其视为更雄心勃勃的气候行动的潜在来源。作为主要资产所有者、化石燃料公司的大股东以及历史上激进的投资者，养老基金理论上完全有能力为逐步淘汰化石燃料做出贡献。尽管人们越来越认识到养老基金和其他主要投资者在减缓气候变化方面的潜在作用，但人们很少关注养老基金在气候变化方面的历史记录，或其气候战略如何随着时间的推移而发展和变化。本文研究了美国和欧洲最大的养老基金的气候战略如何随着国际气候协议的关键发展而演变，以及这些战略在多大程度上限制了化石燃料供应。通过对 6 个养老基金 1997 年至 2022 年的年度、治理和可持续发展报告的分析，我们研究了养老基金为应对气候变化和化石燃料问题所采取的策略。养老基金已经表现出对国际气候协议信号的响应能力，采取了一系列与气候变化有关的战略（其中包括整合ESG原则、增加可持续投资以及设定净零目标）。他们对化石燃料的明确关注和对供应方干预的贡献采取了系统性股东参与、（选择性）撤资和游说政策制定者的形式。尽管养老基金的气候行动正在不断增长，但其战略目标与快速淘汰化石燃料并不相符；他们的努力往往集中在改善信息披露和透明度上，并对化石燃料公司的微小改进表现出自满情绪。如果养老基金要为逐步淘汰化石燃料做出重大贡献，可能需要重新定义养老基金的责任和传统股东的角色。