The Universities Superannuation Scheme, the Railways Pension Scheme and the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme have been slammed for the quality of their response to climate change.
More than 60 per cent of the world’s largest public pension funds have little or no strategy for climate change, according to the Asset Owners Disclosure Project.
The AODP issued ratings for the world’s 100 largest public pension funds. It rated USS performance at CCC level, while the RPS and ESPS both received D ratings.
It calculated that total reported investment in low-carbon technologies from the top 100 funds stands at $90bn (£69.2bn).
This represents less than 1 per cent of their combined assets, and falls short of the $1.1tn (£846bn) in annual investment recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The AODP warned that schemes failing to act on climate change risk breaching their fiduciary duties to savers.
AODP analyst Felix Nagrawala, said: “Pension funds have a duty to serve the long-term interest of their members, which isn’t being met if the money they invest is depleted along with the health of the planet. It’s high time the industry takes action.”
The UK funds appear to be lagging behind their European counterparts. Three of the four funds to achieve an AAA - AA rating based in Europe.
A spokesperson for RPMI and ESPS declined to comment. The USS also declined to comment.
