LGPS Central has joined 10 other institutional investors who’ve put forward a landmark resolution calling on Barclays to phase out financing of non-Paris Agreement aligned energy and utility companies.
Led by ShareAction, a charity which supports responsible investment, the resolution is the first climate change resolution filed at a European bank.
It calls for Barclays to “set and disclose targets to phase out the provision of financial services, including but not limited to project finance, corporate finance and underwriting” to the energy sector and gas and utility companies that are not aligned to the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Jason Fletcher, CIO at LGPS Central Limited, said: “We fully support the goals of the Paris Agreement and at the same time believe this resolution supports the long-term economic interests of shareholders. This proxy does not exclude Barclays lending to companies in those sectors that do meet the Paris Agreement targets.
“If the resolution is successful, we look forward to continuing to engage with the Barclays Board on how it implements its Paris-aligned strategy. This is in line with what we’re ultimately asking of all companies across all sectors which we invest in, namely to get on course with the Paris Agreement goals.”
