Claudia Salerno, head of the Venezuelan delegation says developing countries are promising more to combat emissions than richer countries: “The level of ambition of developing countries has proved to be higher, in large, than developed countries”
IFC and South African Retirement Industry to Advance Ground-Breaking Sustainability Legislation
Johannesburg, South Africa, November 30, 2011—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today signed an agreement with the Principal Officers Association of South Africa to work on the integration of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues in investment decisions. POA is a trade association of pension fund managers representing more than ZAR 2 trillion (about $250 billion) in assets under management.
The project will provide a consistent framework and set of tools for retirement funds to comply with the new Regulation 28 of South Africa’s Pension Funds Act. The regulation is pioneering on a global level in that it requires pension funds to actively consider sustainability issues in their investment decisions. This is reinforced by a number of national and international policy initiatives such as the Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa (CRISA) and the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment.
“Improving the environmental, social, and governance performance of businesses contributes to their financial resilience and profitability. Institutional investors have a key role to play in catalyzing innovation and investment, especially when it comes to climate change,” said Wanjiru Kirima, Chairperson of the Principal Officers Association and also the Chairperson of the project steering committee. “This project is an innovative and practical step for the industry to help address the challenges that South Africa is facing while improving returns for pensions and society.”
The project will draw on local and international best practice, including IFC’s Sustainability Framework for private sector investment in emerging markets. The Sustainability Framework reflects IFC's strategic approach to climate change and the integration of environmental and social sustainability. The broad adoption of these practices can transform markets and improve people’s lives.
“IFC invests in priority sectors such as renewable energy, infrastructure, agribusiness and small and medium enterprises based on our sustainability framework. By working with other institutional investors we seek to leverage additional long-term and sustainable investment into such sectors,” said Saleem Karimjee, IFC Southern Africa Country Manger. “Incorporating environmental, social, and corporate governance practices can help to protect investment portfolios, especially in the light of increasing risks from climate change.”
More than a dozen institutions, including the National Treasury of South Africa, the South African Government Employees Pension Fund, Financial Services Board and the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa, will lead this initiative. These institutions comprise the steering committee of the project and have responsibilities for retirement fund investment practices in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
This project is supported by funding from the Norwegian Government.
Thursday night Climatecom will be hosting a UNFCCC side event entitled Youth and Climate Change: a prerequisite for action. Youth representatives from various environmental organizations and education groups across Africa will discuss solutions towards sustainability in climate change and the role of education and training programmes in raising awareness and action on climate change. Members of the panel will share personal testimonies on what actions they have taken and the audience will be invited to share their views on adopting sustainable lifestyles. Come join us for what promises to be a fun and spirited event Thurdsday December 1, 18:30 -20:300 in Indwe River Room, DEC.
Increasing temperatures mean most of Madagascar won't be able to grow rice by 2080
Madgascar ranked third on the 2010 Maplecroft assessment of "extreme" climate risk, behind only Bangladesh and India
Really troubling statistics on Madagascar: 75 percent poverty rate, 50 percent of population under 20 and a population growth rate of 3.3 percent, 25 percent of population has access to power, 50 percent have access to health services
Just listened to a fascinating discussion at the US Center at COP17. The focus was on public-private partnerships in agriculture, and panel speakers came from the Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya, Pioneer and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) of South Africa. There is so much going on to hep prevent harvest losses, manage resources more effectively and increase productivity of staple crops.
Should be lots of interesting discussion at Climate Communications Day Thursday. I'll get to be one of the dragons in the "Dragon's Den", with scientists trying to push stories. Come see if they defeat the dragons or get their ideas scorched....
