14 February 2020 – Munich Re has become the 19th asset owner to join the United Nations-Convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, bringing the Alliance’s total assets under management (AUM) to US$4.5 trillion.

The group of pension funds and insurers have pledged to decarbonize their portfolios to net-zero emissions by 2050 to avoid a global temperature increase above the 1.5°C Paris target. This will not be attained through divestment, but rather the Alliance will work closely with portfolio companies to change their business models, adopting climate friendly practices and setting a net-zero target based on what science tells us is necessary in order to strive for a 1.5°C world.

Members will work together with initiatives such as the UN Global Compact Business Ambition for 1.5°C, the Investor Agenda, the Science Based Targets initiative, Climate Action 100+, and the WEF Mission Possible Platform.

Munich Re CEO Joachim Wenning said: “We at Munich Re are committed to making our investment portfolio carbon-neutral by 2050. We are therefore expanding our climate strategy and taking a share of the responsibility.”

“Weather-related natural catastrophes and failures now top the Global Risks Report’s annual list of greatest risks, published for the World Economic Forum in Davos. The world’s leading companies are setting the issue higher on their agendas, which is creating an opportunity for us to bundle our strengths in combating climate change,” he said.

NOTES TO EDITORS

Convened by UNEP’s Finance Initiative and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance is supported by WWF and is part of the Mission 2020 campaign, an initiative led by Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Launched in September at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit, the Alliance was initiated by Allianz, Caisse des Dépôts (CDC), La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Folksam Group, PensionDanmark, and Swiss Re, who were joined by Alecta, AMF, CalPERS, Nordea Life and Pension, Storebrand and Zurich as founding members.

In November, AXA, Aviva, CNP Assurances and Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR) joined, and in January the Church of England’s investment bodies and Generali joined.