PLSA comments on Government amendments to Pension Schemes Bill on climate change risk

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) comments on new Government amendments to the Pension Schemes Bill to impose requirements on pension schemes to manage climate change risk.

Joe Dabrowski, Head of DB, LGPS and Standards at the PLSA, said: "We fully support initiatives that help pension schemes with assessing climate change risks. Achieving common forms of disclosure throughout the pensions and investment industry has the potential to make a significant difference to reporting and informing decision making.

"However, parts of these new amendments appear to go significantly beyond current requirement for schemes to disclose what they are doing on scheme investment around climate change and would give unprecedented new powers to Government bodies to interfere and request changes to private sector schemes’ investment strategies. If that’s the case it would set a dangerous precedent and be wholly inappropriate. Nothing should cut across schemes’ fiduciary duty and freedom to invest in members’ best interests – and this will vary scheme by scheme. We urge the government to redraft the amendments and clarify its intent and respect for this principle."

ENDS

Mark Smith, Senior PR Manager
 020 7601 1726 |  [email protected]k

Steven Kennedy, PR Manager
 020 7601 1737 | 07713 073024 | [email protected]