By Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters), a group of $10.4 trillion-managed asset owners announced Tuesday that they were stepping up climate action and aiming to reduce their carbon emissions at least by half by 2030.

These are the 69 members that make up Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance. They include insurance company Swiss Re (OTC:), as well as insurer Aviva (LON 🙂 And CDPQ pension investor said that they plan to reduce carbon emissions by 49% to 65% over the next 8 years starting at 2020.

It is part of the second Target (NYSE:) Setting Protocol. (TSP) The group announced that it would set a goal to cut absolute portfolio emission by between 22 and 32 percent between 2020 and 2025.

The TSP group announced that it has agreed to a framework for reducing carbon-intensive debt and equity sectors’ financed emissions. It also doubled the number of business sector covered, from 14 to 15, including chemical and agricultural.

Asset owners were the most prominent investors in the real economy and they said that the board of directors would be open to discussing how to get their companies aligned with the global transition to a low-carbon future.

It hopes others will be inspired by the group’s approach and targets to join it.

“This advanced guidance will help investors already committed to net-zero to take the urgent shorter-term action that climate science demands,” said NZAOA Chair and Allianz (DE:) board member Guenther Thallinger.

“Action is urgently needed, and all companies are challenged to follow Alliance members’ lead and adapt business models, create plans for the climate-resilient transition, then put those plans into action.”

He said that the members of the group will release interim targets every five years as part of their commitment.