Subprime Carbon

On Febuary 14th the third gathering of institutional investors took place at UN Headquaters in New York City. The "Investor Summit on Climate Risk" was a joint venture between climate risk investment group CERES , the UN Foundation and the UN Fund for International Partnership.

According to UNFIP:

The Summit will focus on how investors can advance solutions to climate change, with a particular emphasis on the benefits of energy efficiency. The Summit aims to help investors
Examine recent scientific findings on climate risk and technological solution

>>Assess potential capital flows into energy efficiency and clean technologies

>>Learn how treasurers, institutional investors and financial services firms worldwide are factoring climate risk into their policies and strategies

>>Consider prudent steps investors can take to address climate risk and opportunities.

At the confernece around $20 trillion worth of assets where represented. A subsection of the group, with assets valued at 1.75$ Trillion signed up to a Climate Action Plan produced by CERES. There was also growth in the companies who, although dodging the solid commitments of the climate action plan have the Investor Network in Climate Risk now involves companies with $5 trillion of investment.

McKinsey Global also announced a significant report at the conference, highlighting the good
returns possible on investment in the vast qauntity of energy infrastructure expected to be
required over the next 50 years.

Al gore was one of the speakers at the conference and he warned of a Subprime like risk due to carbon--indicating that the financial esposure is currentl underestimated.

"You need to really scrub your investment portfolios, because I guarantee you — as my longtime good redneck friends in Tennessee say, I guarandamntee you — that if you really take a fine-tooth comb and go through your portfolios, many of you are going to find them chock-full of subprime carbon assets,"

Related:

Climate Change Action Business Posts.
Video of the morning session.
Video of the afternoon session.
Conference homepage with agenda and overview.

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