What is COP28?

1.    What is COP28?

COP stands for Conference of Parties and is the annual meeting of the signatories of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The first COP was held in Berlin in 1995 and a number of milestones have been achieved since then. Most notably, the Paris Agreement, established in 2015, where signatories committed to keeping global warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This year COP28 is being held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the end of November. 

2.    What will be discussed at COP28?

At this COP, there are a number of important milestones being discussed. Firstly, the continued discussion around the newly formed loss and damage fund. This will focus on working out which countries will be responsible for offering financing to those vulnerable developing countries who are facing damage by the effects of climate change and how this capital will be generated. There will also be the conclusion of the first global stocktake as part of the Paris Agreement. The global stocktake is where every five years countries measure their progress against four areas to assess if they're meeting targets to keep global temperatures within a 2°C range of pre-industrial levels. 

3.    Why does COP matter for my pension?

COP matters for everyone, everywhere. Its focus is on shaping the future of climate policy and improving countries nationally determined contributions, also known as climate pledges. Over the long term, these policies will impact businesses and people directly and subsequently it’s important that Nest understands how these policies may affect our investments.

4.    What's Nest progress towards net zero?

In 2020, we set an ambition to align our investment portfolio with limiting global warming to 1.5°C by reaching net zero emissions across our portfolio by 2050 at the latest. This is aligned with the commitment made by governments across the world through the Paris Agreement, and consistent with the UK’s legislated target of net zero emissions by 2050. We have intermittent targets to meet this goal, such as a carbon reduction target of 30% by 2025 across our investment portfolio.

5.    Will going net zero cost me money in my pension pot?

We believe the bigger risk to your pension pot is if we don't help prepare for net zero. We’ve run a number of climate scenarios testing how your pension and future investment returns are affected by global warming. The results were clear, one of the biggest determinants in how well your pension pot will grow will likely be climate change. By getting ahead of the game and starting to invest in companies which are reducing their carbon emissions or investing directly into renewable energy infrastructure, we're reducing this risk for you, our members, which in turn should help you make more money over the long-term.

Published 8 December 2023