LONDON (Reuters) – British companies and investors including BT, Tesco, Aviva and Legal & General Investment Management on Monday urged the British government to make large companies disclose their net-zero climate transition plans.
The government has asked companies voluntarily to set net-zero targets and disclose their transition plans ahead of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next month.
But the institutions, which include investors managing more than 4.5 trillion pounds ($6.13 trillion) in assets, said this did not go far enough, calling for a deadline of 2025 to make such disclosures mandatory for big firms.
Mark Versey, CEO of Aviva Investors, said mandatory transition plans were “vital if companies’ net-zero commitments are to translate into the reduction in global emissions required to meet the Paris Agreement”.
Britain’s local government pension schemes, hedge fund TCI and asset manager Sarasin last week told UK listed companies to allow shareholders a vote on their transition plans.
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)
