Net Zero Asset Managers to return without 2050 climate target
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The news: The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, a multi-trillion-dollar group of investment managers committed to supporting the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions, has announced that it will resume operations after pausing in early 2025.
The numbers: NZAM was launched in December 2020 with a group of 30 asset managers representing approximately USD9 trillion ($13.7 trillion) of assets under management (AUM). By early 2025, more than 325 signatories representing USD57 trillion in AUM had agreed to a series of commitments aimed at supporting the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
The context: The global body — whose members include Macquarie Asset Management, IFM Investors, Magellan Financial Group and Maple-Brown Abbott — said in January it was suspending activities following "recent developments in the US and different regulatory and client expectations in investors' jurisdictions."
NZAM's announcement, which came a week before the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, confirmed plans to launch a review of the initiative to ensure it remained fit for purpose "in the new global context".
The group said today that the review is now complete, following engagement with hundreds of signatories and non-signatory asset managers and asset owners. It will consequently resume its target and implementation support activities in January 2026.
NZAM has updated its commitment statement, removing references to its previous 2050 target "to reflect diverse jurisdictional realities and accommodate signatories from a wider range of markets."
"Signatories will continue to set individual targets, implement their own stewardship strategies, and report annually on their progress," it said.
What they said: "NZAM signatories recognise their fiduciary duties to consider how financial risks and opportunities presented by climate change may impact investment outcomes," the group said.
"Being a signatory to NZAM helps asset managers demonstrate how they are positioning for and seizing these opportunities, while managing climate-related financial risks on behalf of their clients."
The source: NZAM media release
