The City of London Corporation has today announced a new 2040 net zero target for its combined £3bn investment portfolios, outlining a concrete action plan in response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s ‘code red’ climate warning.

The plan – which also encompasses the City Corporation’s role as Trustee of the charity Bridge House Estates – sets out a pathway to end the organisation’s single largest contribution to global emissions by 2040.

Decisive short-term action is central to the plan, which sets four explicit targets to be delivered over the next four years to 2025, including:

1. Reducing the emissions intensity of the City Corporation’s investments by 24%.
2. Full compliance by investment managers with a set of 12 climate investor expectations, including default support for climate change shareholder resolutions and a requirement for all investee companies to set science-based decarbonisation targets.
3. Adopting an open stance to climate solution investments.
4. Dedicated resource for timely delivery of the net zero pathway.

Further details of the City Corporation’s commitments can be found in the City of London Corporation inaugural climate-related financial risk disclosure, published today. The City Corporation will report net zero progress for the investment portfolios annually as part of these disclosures.

Today’s commitments build on the radical steps already being taken through the City Corporation’s Climate Action Strategy.

Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, Catherine McGuinness, said:

“Financial services must play a key role in the fight against climate change and we at the City Corporation are committed to working with the industry to accelerate progress on the race to zero.

“Preparing our own investment portfolio and encouraging our investment managers towards a climate change transition is not only the right thing to do but it also makes economic sense. These actions are vital if the City of London is to continue to play a leading role on the global stage.”

The report is available to download at Climate action: managing climate risk for our financial investments 2021.

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Notes to editors

About the City of London Corporation

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk