NYC Comptroller Lander and Pension Trustees Announce 24.7% Increase in Climate Solutions Investments and Commitments

– New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and trustees of the New York City retirement systems announced a 24.7% increase in climate solutions investments and commitments in the most recent fiscal year. The collective portfolio now stands at $10.5 billion as of the end of June 2023. This announcement comes as global leaders closed the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) with a commitment to “laying the ground for a swift, just and equitable transition, underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled-up finance.”

“Preserving a livable planet and a thriving economy will require a collective global commitment both to the phaseout of fossil fuels and to massive new investments in renewable energy and innovative climate solutions. We’re thrilled to be growing our climate solutions investments at the scale necessary to safeguard the long-term future of the Systems’ portfolios and our planet,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

The robust increase in climate solutions investments bolsters  the recent decision by the three Systems (New York City Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System and Board of Education Retirement System) to implement one of the most ambitious strategies of any public pension fund in the country to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Investments in climate solutions are one of the key pillars of the net zero strategy, alongside commitments to divest from fossil fuels, disclose annual emissions, and actively engage portfolio companies and asset managers to set and achieve science-based targets to reach net zero. The NYC funds lead in pushing push banks, asset managers, utilities, and auto companies to accelerate their climate transitions.

The climate solutions in the New York City Retirement Systems’ portfolio includes investments in companies that derive revenue from climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience activities, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution prevention, and low-carbon buildings. Climate solutions investments in the Systems’ portfolios grew consistently and steeply in the last several years, more than five-fold since 2018. The five NYC pension funds aim to reach a goal of $50 billion in climate solutions investments by 2035.

Companies that have received investments include:

• Intersect Power, a clean energy company bringing innovative and scalable low-carbon solutions to its customers in retail and wholesale energy markets.
• Form Energy, which is developing, manufacturing, and commercializing a new class of cost-effective, multi-day energy storage systems that will enable a reliable and fully renewable electric grid year-round.
• Nextracker, which provides intelligent solar tracker solutions for utility-scale and distributed generation projects to transform PV plant performance.

The collective portfolio for all Systems grew in nearly all asset classes.

*Data for infrastructure asset class reflects the end of March 2023.

Read more about the New York City retirement systems’ climate work on the updated Climate Dashboard.

In addition to Comptroller Lander, trustees of the New York City Retirement Systems are as follows:

Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS): Mayor Eric Adams’ Appointee Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; Chancellor’s Representative, Dr. Angela Green, New York City Department of Education Panel for Educational Policy; and Thomas Brown (Chair), Victoria Lee, and David Kazansky, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS): Mayor Eric Adams’ Appointee Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; Borough Presidents: Mark Levine (Manhattan), Antonio Reynoso (Brooklyn), Donovan Richards Jr. (Queens), Vito Fossella (Staten Island), and Vanessa L. Gibson (Bronx); Henry Garrido, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Richard Davis, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and Gregory Floyd, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

New York City Police Pension Fund (Police): Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments; New York City Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack; New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban (Chair); Chris Monahan, Captains Endowment Association; Louis Turco, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; Vincent Vallelong, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Paul DiGiacomo, Detectives Endowment Association; and Patrick Hendry, Daniel Terrelli, Albert Alcierno and Arthur Egner all of the NYC Police Benevolent Association.

New York City Fire Pension Fund (Fire): Mayor Eric Adams’ Representative Bryan Berge, Director, Mayor’s Office of Pension and Investments;  New York City Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Preston Niblack; Andrew Ansbro, President, Robert Eustace, Vice President, Chris Viola, Treasurer, and Eric Bischoff, Staten Island Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Sean Michael, Chiefs’ Rep., Joe Camastro, Lieutenants’ Rep. and Liam Guilfoyle, (Chair), Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and Peter Devita, Marine Engineers Association.

Board of Education Retirement System (BERS): Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, Represented by Karine Apollon; Mayoral appointees Lilly Chan, Marjorie Dienstag, Gregory Faulkner, Anita Garcia, Anthony Giordano, Dr. Angela Green, Alan Ong, Phoebe Sade-Arnold, Maisha Sapp, Venus Sze-Tsang, Gladys Ward; CEC appointees Naveed Hasan, Jessamyn Lee, Thomas Sheppard, and Ephraim Zakry; Borough President Appointees Geneal Chacon (Bronx); Tazin Azad (Brooklyn); Kaliris Salas-Ramirez (Manhattan); Sheree Gibson (Queens); Aaron Bogad (Staten Island); and employee members John Maderich of the IUOE Local 891 and Donald Nesbit of District Council 37, Local 372.

###