On August 1 the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held the chamber’s first hearing on climate change in more than three years. Among those called to testify was John Griffin, secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Griffin spoke about his state’s “long running efforts to research, plan and prepare for the impact of sea level rise, extreme storms and climate change.”
该州的努力日期回到20世纪90年代初，当时与马里兰大学环境科学中心合作的自然资源部门研究了海平面上升对Chesapeake湾内肋骨社区和沼泽系统的影响。
然而，从那时起，一个人几乎不需要科学家看到风景秀丽的马里兰州海岸线的影响气候变化。该州目前正在失去大约580英亩的岸边侵蚀。已经被水消耗了13个切萨皮克湾群岛。大约5,000英亩的黑水国家野生动物避难所，拥有最大的德米尔瓦福克斯松鼠，而佛罗里达州以外的东海岸的美国秃头老鹰队的最大育种人口，已归结。而且，2011年飓风艾琳和热带风暴李某打了马里兰州海岸。
格里芬不是唯一一个发表警报的人。马里兰州国家财务主管南希·科普普对气候变化深感困扰及其对她国的后果。这么多，所以她也在寻求方法做一些事情。“对我们在马里兰州看到的影响有共同的敏感性，”Kopp告诉亚博赞助欧冠在面试中。“对气候变化的全球性影响具有广泛的影响。”这种意识延伸到376亿美元的马里兰州国家退休金和养老金制度，因为Kopp担任14人受托人的主席。Kopp表示，董事会成员以及养老金投资人员分享了对气候变化对基金投资价值的潜在长期影响的认识。
Among public pension funds in the U.S., the large California plans, the $239 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System and $152 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System have long been the most public and progressive when it comes to considering the impact of so-called ESG issues, that is the environment, social matters and corporate governance, on their investment portfolio. Increasingly they are not alone. And Maryland is at the vanguard of a host of other pension systems, as well as some foundations, endowments and sovereign wealth funds, grappling with these issues.
What makes Maryland stand out from some others — though it is not unique in this regard — is the impact the state’s own vulnerabilities have on government officials like Kopp and Griffin, who already see the clear and immediate impact of climate change both on peoples’ day-to-day lives and the bottom line. Yet officials in other states may see that as well if the effects of climate change spread and intensify. As Griffin told the Senate hearing, “due to the observed and increasing future risk that a changing climate poses to Maryland’s citizens, ecosystem and infrastructure, our state is increasingly focused on addressing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the impact of climate challenge.”
更难以评估是气候变化对经济影响的根本问题，以及马里兰州退休和养老金制度等养老基金如何保护自己。
第一个挑战是衡量风险。正如康普所说，“首先，你必须意识到那里的问题的程度。”在这个领域有充足的工作，但更多的数据变得越来越多，并且更多正在使用该信息进行。
采取碳排放的例子，以及如何通过某种税收，碳交易系统（公司将购买和贸易碳信用额）或业务影响为由，排放成本是如何由公司出生的。由隶属于发电投资管理的基础制作的2011年白皮书 - 由前副总裁Al Gore和前高盛萨克斯管理头大卫血对伦敦的伦敦资产管理公司专注于可持续投资 - 适用于“搁浅资产”一词对公司资产负债表上的碳的未付成本。和罗伯特·柴油店，罗伯特垃圾箱的前冒险主管发表了白皮书，“适当地定价气候变化风险”，于2011年9月/ 10月发布财务分析师杂志。,在后续的研究中,Littermanargued that the balance-sheet risk of climate change is far greater today than is often appreciated by the market and investors.
与此同时，一群养老基金和其他资产业主与CERES合作，以波士顿为基础为基础的非营利资金，作为制度投资者和其他人在可持续性问题上的倡导者，宣传证券和交流委员会要求公开贸易公司披露亚博赞助欧冠关于气候变化对其财务报告业务影响的材料信息。2010年，SEC发布了对企业披露和气候风险的突破性解释性指导方针。
今年5月，CERES以及国际救济组织牛津美国和贝塞斯达，马里兰州可持续发展的重点投资经理Calvert Investment，制作了一个题为“气候变化的身体风险”的报告，披露的公司和投资者指南并对气候影响的管理，有利于更大的企业披露与气候变化相关的风险。这些投资者认为，美国和其他地方仍然需要更加披露。
截至目前，机构投资者主亚博赞助欧冠要试图应对气候变化和其他环境问题与他们通过股东参与持有的公司。这是马里兰州青睐的方法以及其他大型美国公共资金。除了卡波斯和钙斯体系之外，这些除了纽约国家共同退休基金，纽约市养老基金，北卡罗来纳退休系统，佛罗里达州的行政委员会和康涅狄格州退休计划和信托基金。
They and other institutional investors typically seek to frame these discussions around risk and, potentially, profit as opposed to abstract notions of social or environmental good. “There is a whole set of assumptions that people often make when they hear terms like ESG and sustainability,” says Rob Lake, director of strategic development for the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment, which brings together investors to address ESG concerns. In the U.S. those assumptions typically involve increased cost resulting from new regulations, rather than as an investment or profit-making opportunity as a result of new revenue opportunities as well as potential cost reductions. London-based Lake says that part of the job of shareholders here is to change that outlook.
But investors are starting to look at other ways to address the issue. Maryland was one of 16 significant institutional asset owners to take part in a Mercer Investment Consulting study on climate change and asset allocation. In February 2011 Mercer issued a report, "Climate Change Scenarios – Implications for Strategic Asset Allocation," which argued for the need to integrate the potential effects of climate change into strategic asset allocation modeling and found that “climate policy could contribute as much as 10 percent to overall portfolio risk.” The more challenging question of what to do about that risk largely remains unanswered.
有关资产业主要求投资管理人员注意ESG事项。迄今为止，投资者汇总资产价值超过30万亿美元的投资者已签署联合国固定资料。在2011年的进度报告中，联合国委员会表示，198个签署资产所有者中的81％的签署资产所有者答复了联合国预股调查的人表示，他们要求在金钱管理者上有关ESG的关注。Mercer最近宣布，它将ESG评级分配给跨越资产类别的经理 - 第一个为此为本的主要投资顾问。
马里兰州’s Kopp says the state pension fund is starting to talk to the money managers it works with about ESG matters and trying to get them “to make it clear to the companies that they want to see evidence that they are starting to analyze where they are taking the company” on these issues. But even in a state like Maryland, where the effects of climate change are apparent and government officials are responding, change takes time. “We are like a battleship in Maryland,” says Kopp, referring to the retirement fund and its pace of change. Other investors are taking matters a step further with allocations to managers who are, in some way, seeking to respond to or profit from environmental triggers. For example, CalPERS has developed a “green” private equity portfolio that focuses on solar, wind, bio fuels and energy efficiency, albeit with mostly mixed results. Other pension systems, including the North Carolina Retirement Systems, have reported success “greening” their real estate holdings. Kopp says Maryland is considering going this route. “We are looking at allocations of green energies and opportunities, and we are looking at a range of consultants and mangers.” Although Maryland has yet to decide in its favor, she says, “I think it is a very reasonable step to take.”
如果从马里兰州海岸线和垃圾和其他人的研究等地方产生的证据是任何事情的，那么更多的投资者将稍后暂时服用这一步。