£7.6bn LGPS fund announces emissions targets

The London Pension Funds Authority (LPFA) has launched a net-zero plan that includes a commitment to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 75% by 2030. Goals for the £7.6bn fund, which is part of the UK Local Government Pension Scheme, have been set out in an Investor Climate Action Plan covering the portfolio, its assets and operations. Attention will be focused initially on listed equity holdings, which represent 50% of the fund (£3.8bn). Peter Ballard, the LPFA’s director of funding and risk, said: “We want to drive change in the real world so that the economy as a whole achieves net-zero emissions. This means that we’ll work closely with our delegated asset manager, LPPI, and collaborate with like-minded investors to make sure that we are pushing companies along their own net-zero path.” The LPFA was established originally to manage the pension assets of the former Greater London Council, and now also includes the assets of the British Film Institute, Horniman Museum, Guinness Trust, the armed forces charity SSAFA and others.