<Div id = "csse_post_div" style = "text-align: justify important; Australian pension fund's REST settled a climate change dispute brought against it two years ago by one of its members, a move which UK-based lawyers have said the funds pension should also take note of
In a statement, the AU $ 56 billion (€ 34 billion) retail employee pension fund today said climate change is a « material, direct and current financial risk » for him « in many risk categories » and that he agreed with the complainant Mark McVeigh – « to continue to develop its management processes to deal with the financial risks of climate change on behalf of its members »
The settlement appears to involve REST making several commitments related to climate change In its statement, REST said McVeigh « recognizes and supports » its initiatives, including to:
McVeigh took the case to Australian Federal Court in 2018, the first time a member of a superannuation fund sued a fund for lack of information about the risk associated with climate change and plans to address it The settlement comes as a trial was due to take place in Sydney this week
In the UK, Joanne Etherton, climate finance leader at ClientEarth lawyers, said the rest commitments in the settlement were important both in terms of the climate and ‘for the signal they send at the market «
This was not the case with regard to Australia, with Etherton saying the result « should also increase the heart rate at the UK pension fund, as there is a very real risk of litigation for funds that do not take the risk climate into account here »
« For the pension providers behind the curve on this, it would be in their best interests to read the regulations carefully and get their homes in order »
In the Sackers law firm, his partner Stuart O’Brien said the case did not translate directly into UK pension funds as the result was a settlement rather than a binding judgment and anyway concerned the regulations governing Australian pension funds
“However,” he added, “the principles on which the Member has presented his claim have a lot of parallels with the fiduciary duties of UK Trustees, so I think there is a read-across that for comply with fiduciary obligations, trustees should think about the same things «
He said it also raised the ‘interesting question’ of whether there might be a similar case in the UK
The setting of net zero targets is starting to make itself felt among the UK’s largest pension investors, who are also facing increased disclosure and governance demands linked to climate change Cbus, the Australian pension fund and construction industry, joined the active United Nations Net-Zero Alliance owner earlier this year
The recommendations for action include joint work between industry and government to « achieve a common language and taxonomy before COP26 »
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Retail employee pension trust, pension, investment fund, pension fund, finance, climate change
World news – CA – Australian pension fund settles lawsuit linked to climate change
