The number of Dutch banks, insurers and pension funds who are calculating the climate impact of their loans and investments is growing. Seventeen financials with a total assets under management of 2 trillion euros are now part of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), which has developed a measurement method to map the CO2 emissions of the loans and investments. With updates and new methods, the group makes a significant contribution towards harmonizing the way financial institutions measure emissions financed by loans and investments.

In their latest report, presented December 11 at the climate summit in Madrid, 17 Dutch financial institutions show the progress that has been made with the carbon accounting method of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF).

New asset classes have been added to the methodology and new tools are available for the growing number of financial companies who want to use the PCAF methodology. Participating institutions in the Netherlands represent €2 trillion of assets under management, many of whom already publicly disclose the associated carbon footprint.

The Dutch group pioneered the development of a methodology to assess the carbon emissions of financial institution's loans and investments. This groundbreaking approach has been the catalyst for a global movement of institutions who assess their emissions with a view, ultimately, to align their impact with the Paris Climate Goals.

Jack Julicher, CEO a.s.r. asset management: a.s.r. is committed to measure the carbon footprint for at least 95% of the internally managed investment portfolio for the own account in 2021 and to set targets for the long term decarbonization pathway. The PCAF partnership has delivered essential tools for carbon accounting and Science Based Targets road testing to a.s.r. and other financial institutions, to build climate resilient investment portfolios and to maximize their enabling potential to transform towards a low-carbon world.

Global movement
PCAF started in the Netherlands in 2015, when ASN Bank took this initiative during the climate summit in Paris. Eleven Dutch financial institutions joined this first effort of its kind by the financial industry, for the financial industry. PCAF has now become a worldwide standard. To date, 57 financial institutions from around the world have joined and committed to measure and report on their CO2 emissions. They represent $3.5 trillion in total assets. The ambition of PCAF is to grow this number to 100 institutions worldwide within three years. In the future, the group believes that measuring and disclosing CO2 impact should become common practice across the entire financial sector.

Science based targets
An important next step in the development of PCAF is to use insights from assessing greenhouse gas emissions to set science-based targets. These targets will help ensure financial institutions play their part in keeping the global increase in temperature within safe levels.

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ASR Nederland NV published this content on 12 December 2019 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 12 December 2019 10:40:06 UTC