Addition of Dai-ichi Life Insurance pushes Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance total global AUM to US$5.5 trillion.
Japan-based Dai-ichi Life Insurance has joined as the 34th member of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and UN-convened Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), an initiative for global investors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their investment portfolios to net-zero by 2050. With US$379 billion AUM, Dai-ichi is the first Asian investor to join the Alliance, pushing NZAOA’s total AUM to US$5.5 trillion.
The Alliance has set decarbonisation targets for each asset owner’s portfolio emissions, which will be re-evaluated every five years. By 2025, each member has pledged to reduce their portfolio emissions by 16% to 29%.
According to the ‘Inaugural 2025 Target Setting Protocol’ report, Alliance members are also “encouraged to set net-zero targets on their own Scope 1 and 2 emissions, as possible”. Members aim to use science-based ranges, targets and methodologies when reducing carbon emissions.
“By joining the NZAOA, we commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our investment portfolio to net-zero by 2050, and set the target of reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 to limit the global warming consistent with the Paris Agreement’s goal,” said Kazuyuki Shigemoto, Executive Officer at Dai-ichi Life Insurance.
NZAOA Chair Günther Thallinger said he expects Dai-ichi to be “the first of many new members from the region”, adding that it is “the imperative to reduce portfolio emissions builds into a truly global movement” rather than a European-centric one.
Earlier this month, the Alliance also called on asset managers to designed blended finance vehicles in order to increase private sector investment in sustainable development.
The Alliance includes members such as Allianz, the Church of England Pensions Board and Aviva. It’s also supported by Global Optimism and the WWF’s Finance Practice.
