California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Chief Operating Investment Officer Michael Cohen has been named Steering Committee Chair of the Climate Action 100+ (CA100+) investor initiative. Cohen will be taking over from incumbent Chair François Humbert, Engagement Lead Manager at Generali Asset Management. The role rotates every 12 months between different regional representatives on the committee. CalPERS co-founded CA100+ in 2017 and served as its inaugural chair. The pension fund’s actions on climate include supporting the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rule, holding companies accountable for climate-related risk, and developing the Sustainable Investing 2030 Plan to move its portfolio to net zero emissions. “Our organisation played a pivotal role in creating CA100+,” said CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost. “Michael will be a steady hand for the steering committee at a crucial moment – one where our fiduciary duty requires swift and substantive action on climate change to ensure long-term value for our members, their families, and their retirement security.” CA100+ currently represents more than 700 institutional investors and has engaged 170 companies since launch on improving climate change governance, cutting emissions, and strengthening climate-related financial disclosures. Those efforts have led three-quarters of the companies to commit to net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Almost all of them also have board committee oversight of climate change risks and opportunities. “CA100+ was founded to ensure companies take meaningful steps to address the existential financial threats from climate change,” said Cohen. “There is still more to do to constructively engage with our corporate partners and build upon early successes.”
