U.K. Proposes Pension Funds Disclose Climate Change Impact

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. pension funds may be forced to report on how the retirement savings they manage are affected by climate change.

Under proposed amendments to pensions legislation made on Tuesday, pension schemes will be required to disclose how they are considering climate change in their governance, strategies and risk management, Therese Coffey, secretary of state at the Department for Work and Pensions, and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, wrote in the Telegraph on Wednesday. Guy Opperman, minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion, said on Twitter on Wednesday the U.K. government will consult on the proposed amendments, which represent “a massive step forward in battle against #climatechange.”

The proposed legislation comes as the U.K. government ramps up its efforts to fight climate change after becoming the first major economy to pass a law requiring it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the point where it makes no net contribution to rising global temperatures. The U.K. government would also be the first to mandate disclosures by large pension schemes.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Alastair Marsh in London at amarsh25@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tim Quinson at tquinson@bloomberg.net

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