General Board of Pension and Health Benefits Signatory to Global Climate Change Statement

For Immediate Release
September 23, 2009

Contact: M. Colette Nies, Managing Director, Communications
(847) 866-4296 or cnies@gbophb.org

Evanston, IL—Many of the world’s largest global investors issued a joint call for strong action this year from U.S. and international policy makers in the fight against global warming.

In anticipation of upcoming international climate treaty talks and Congressional debate of climate and energy legislation, global investors met at an all-day International Investor Forum on Climate Change in New York City on September 16, 2009 and issued a major policy statement calling for “a strong and binding international treaty to reduce pollution and catalyze massive global investments in low-carbon technologies.”

General Board of Pension and Health Benefits General Secretary, Barbara A. Boigegrain, was among 181 investors to sign the policy statement. The signatories collectively manage more than $13 trillion in assets making this policy statement “the largest of its kind on climate change in world history.”

Ms. Boigegrain noted, “As the largest faith-based investor in the U.S., the General Board’s advocacy for responsible environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices is an important element of our socially responsible investment philosophy. By collaborating with other investors to impact global policies including climate change, our actions deliver results that are aligned with United Methodist Church values that benefit all of the General Board’s participants and stakeholders.”

Negotiations begin in Copenhagen this December to ratify a new international climate change treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. The resulting treaty will depend on U.S. Congressional debate and outcomes on climate and energy legislation. In June, the House passed a comprehensive climate change bill and the Senate will begin legislative considerations this fall.

Among the signatories to the global climate change policy statement were pension fund leaders, state government officials, investment managers and worldwide foundations. The policy statement can be read by clicking 2009 Investor Statement on the Urgent Need for a Global Agreement on Climate Change.

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About the General Board

The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits is a not-for-profit administrative agency of The United Methodist Church, responsible for the general supervision and administration of the retirement, health and welfare benefit plans, programs and funds for more than 74,000 clergy and lay employees of the Church.

The General Board is the largest faith-based pension fund in the United States and ranks among the top 100 pension funds in the country. As a socially responsible investor, the General Board is actively involved in shareholder advocacy, proxy voting, portfolio screening and community investing.