The clearing of the world’s forests, which continues at an alarming pace despite global commitments to halt the practice, is a major contributor to global warming. In response, climate activists are pressing to restore damaged ecosystems. In November, financing forest protection will be a a central theme at the United Nations COP30 climate summit in Brazil.
A coalition of pension funds and insurance companies holding a combined US$9.5 trillion ($12.2 trillion) of assets has called on investors to ensure their portfolios aren’t supporting or enabling deforestation.
The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, whose signatories include Allianz and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, said in a report published Wednesday that investors should ensure they have a firm grasp of their exposure to deforestation and take steps to “phase out” any harms to forests stemming from their investments in commodities such as beef, cocoa and palm oil by 2030.
