Billy Berler, billy.berler@sierraclub.org
NEW YORK, NY — New York City Comptroller Mark Levine announced Wednesday that the Bureau of Asset Management expects to present a total of $5 billion in new private-market climate investment opportunities to the boards of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), and Board of Education Retirement System (BERS), subject to each system’s independent review and approval.
The proposed investment opportunities would focus on areas including renewable power, grid modernization, energy storage and efficiency, clean transportation, building decarbonization, and resilient infrastructure. The initiative would contribute toward the New York City pensions’ collective goal of investing $50 billion in climate solutions by 2035.
The announcement notably distinguishes the new private-market strategy from past reported climate-solutions growth, which the Comptroller’s office said had “mostly come from the appreciation of technology stocks in the passive portfolios.” The new focus is intended to increase the strategy’s real-world impact by creating more opportunities to deploy capital toward climate solutions.
In response, Ben Cushing, Director of the Sierra Club’s Sustainable Finance Campaign, issued the following statement:
“New York City’s pensions have established some of the country’s most significant commitments to investing in climate solutions. This proposal is an important step toward more intentional implementation of those commitments by directing greater attention toward investments that can help drive the real-economy transition.
“As these opportunities are advanced, strong eligibility standards, safeguards, and transparent reporting will be critical to ensuring that capital is directed toward credible climate solutions with strong real-world benefits. Private-market investments can play an important role in financing the transition, but what qualifies and how the capital is used will determine the impact.”
Background:
Different types of investments can have very different real-world effects. Rising stock values can increase the amount counted toward a climate-solutions target without providing new financing for clean-energy deployment or other decarbonization activity. Investments that provide new capital to build and scale climate solutions can more directly support real-world emissions reductions and help mitigate climate risks facing long-term investors like pension funds.
The announcement follows the three pensions’ FY2025 climate reports, released in April. Those reports examined limitations in their existing climate-solutions classifications and said the systems intended to become more intentional about their climate-solutions investments and how those investments are defined and reported. The reports highlighted in particular the treatment of large technology companies under MSCI’s Environmental Impact Metrics; notably, holdings in just three companies—Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon—together represented almost 24% of reported climate-solutions investments for NYCERS, and almost 30% for TRS and BERS. The pensions said they were reviewing those classifications and had asked MSCI to reassess its methodology.
In response to those reports, Sierra Club applauded the three systems’ continued climate leadership while calling for stronger definitions, reporting, and greater emphasis on investments that more clearly support real-world decarbonization. Sierra Club’s January Climate Solutions Gap report had likewise called for stronger safeguards, transparency, and greater attention to investments that provide new capital.
In February, Sierra Club Executive Director Loren Blackford published an op-ed in Crain’s New York Business urging Comptroller Levine and pension trustees to build on the pensions’ net-zero plans, including by avoiding new private-market investments in fossil fuel infrastructure that increase climate-related financial risks.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.