Under the new engagement programme, investors will work with utilities in Asia to cut their carbon footprint. The programme’s first year will involve 13 investors and stewardship service providers, including GIC, BNP Paribas Asset Management, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The group plans to focus on five utility companies in China, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia in this first year. The utilities are China Resources Power, Hong Kong’s CLP, Tenaga Nasional Berhad in Malaysia, and two Japanese firms – Chubu Electric Power and Electric Power Development.
The group selected these utilities because of their high emissions, large coal-fired power capacity and their “strategic role” in driving the sector’s decarbonisation. In 2019, the five utilities collectively emitted about 285 million tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Executive director of the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change Rebecca Mikula-Wright said the transition of Asian utilities to net-zero emissions would be critical for the world to meet its Paris Agreement goals to limit global warming to 1.5°C. “This new programme will assist investors in increasing the effectiveness of their work with Asian utility companies to manage and mitigate climate risk,” she added.
The group stated that they intend to work with the utilities to commit to a few measures, including the setting of clear decarbonisation strategies, with short-, medium- and long-term action plans, and a timeline for achieving them.