Nordic Council of Ministers Meeting Discuss Collaboration on Green Investment Mobilisation

STOCKHOLM, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Climate Investment Coalition (CIC) took a first important step on its 2020 roadmap at the Nordic Council's Climate and Environment Ministers Meeting today, when the Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities chaired a Roundtable discussion between Nordic governments and institutional investors on climate investment mobilisation in the coming years. Focus for the discussion was not only on how to solve the climate crisis but also how institutional investors can contribute to the recovery of pandemic affected economies in a climate-friendly way.

"The political response to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic must reap the synergies between job creation and climate action. Huge amounts of money will be mobilised to boost our economies, and we must seize that as an opportunity to tip the scales from black to green. Institutional investors will play a key role in making the recovery a green one," says Dan Jørgensen, Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities in Denmark

"Financial commitments from institutional investors are required to fund the transition to a net-zero economy in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Given the current pandemic and its impact on economies globally, these investments can now have even more impact. It is important to also see green investments as a key approach to help stimulate and regenerate the economy", says Chairman of IIGCC, Peter Damgaard Jensen.

In 2019, the Danish Pension Funds committed USD 50 billion to be invested in the energy transition and climate mitigation, and to be applied with the required framework conditions from 2020 to 2030. This commitment was made through a public-private partnership between the Danish Government and Insurance & Pension Denmark and led to the establishment of the Climate Investment Coalition.

"The Danish insurance and pension industry support the Paris Agreement to keep the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celcius, preferably 1.5 degrees. Institutional investors can play an important role in the green transition by financing green investments, given suitable framework conditions. Through the activities of the Climate Investment Coalition, the Danish pension industry will share its experiences in good green investment practices and framework conditions to promote the green transition internationally," says Deputy Chief Executive at Insurance & Pension Denmark, Jan V. Hansen.