SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s pension fund will consider climate change as part of its stewardship activities going forward, the welfare ministry said on Tuesday.
A panel that overseas the National Pension Service’s (NPS) fund management policies decided to add climate change and industrial accidents to its list of focus areas for responsible investment activities, the ministry said in a statement.
The focus areas in which the world’s third-largest public pension fund conducts shareholder engagement with companies include dividend policy, remuneration cap for directors, violation of rules and regulations, repetitive vote against and downgrades in its environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating.
The NPS made a declaration in May 2021 that it would limit investing in industries related to coal mining and coal-fired power to join global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, but there is no guideline that restricts the investment yet.
(Reporting by Jihoon Lee; editing by Christian Schmollinger)
