Investor groups team up to issue post-Kyoto wish list

The leading climate change investor groups in Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand have come together today for the first time to call on global leaders to deliver a post-Kyoto deal before the end of next year.

The European Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), US-based Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) and the Investors Group on Climate Change (IGCC) in Australia and New Zealand – which together represent 130 investors and $6.4 trillion (£4.1 trillion) in assets – have written to heads of state and leading climate change negotiators to warn that without " clear and long-term policy signals," their members will be unable to deliver the investment required to develop a low carbon economy.

The letter, which comes just ahead of the next round of UN negotiations in Poznan, Poland next month, argues that without a "strong and binding" climate change agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol, investors will lack the certainty they require to authorise investments in low carbon technologies and business models.

It also warns that a deal must be finalised before the end of next year at the scheduled Copenhagen Conference in December and that the global economic downturn should not be used as an excuse to water down any deal.

"We are urging world leaders to provide the policy framework that will help investors drive the financial flows necessary to address this urgent crisis," said Peter Dunscombe, Chairman of the IIGCC. "A strong global agreement will provide companies, governments and investors with the incentives to act quickly and efficiently in tackling climate change."

The letter sets out a wish list from investors, calling for any post Kyoto deal to be based on a binding global target for cutting emissions to a level determined by the latest climate science.

It also urges negotiators to deliver emission targets for developed economies; national action plans for developing countries based largely on energy efficiency improvements and with a view to developing emission targets; an expansion of the global carbon market; an overhaul of the Clean Development Mechanism; clear commitments to climate change adaptation; and measures to reverse deforestation.

The letter comes as UN climate change chief Yvo de Boer said that he hoped US president-elect Barack Obama would contribute to the forthcoming Poznan climate change talks.

Speaking to AFP, De Boer said that he was "very encouraged" by Obama's commitment to tackling global warming and that he would like to see the president-elect, or his representatives, attend the Poznan conference.