Global Association for ESG
6 Apr 2023
The welfare ministry announced Tuesday that South Korea's national pension fund will consider climate change in its management.
The ministry said a panel that oversees the National Pension Service (NPS) fund management policies added climate change and industrial accidents to its list of focal areas for responsible investment activities.
The world's third-largest public pension fund previously focused on corporate governance issues like dividend policy, board compensation caps, and rule violations.
Han Soo-youn, climate finance lead at Seoul-based advocacy group Solutions for Our Climate, said, “Now there exists a framework for the pension fund to get involved in companies’ climate change responses, and it will have to be monitored whether the fund carries out responsible investment activities based on the framework going forward.
In May 2021, the NPS said it would limit investing in coal mining and coal-fired power to cut carbon emissions, but there is no guideline.