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New York launches decarbonization advisory panel

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli have created a six-member panel to advise them on mitigating risks tied to climate change and emissions in the state's pension fund holdings and on using the state's green bank to advance clean energy options.

The Decarbonization Advisory Panel will come up with suggestions for the state Common Retirement Fund, the third-largest pension fund in the U.S., and the state's clean energy fund, NY Green Bank, according to a March 6 news release.

"We look forward to this panel's recommendations on how best to decarbonize the pension fund in a way that will secure retirement for hardworking New Yorkers and help support the overall health of the state's economy and protect our environment for generations to come," Cuomo said in a prepared statement.

Cuomo is among a number of governors who have pledged to continue advancing clean energy and emissions reduction efforts tied to the Paris Agreement on climate change even as President Donald Trump has pledged to withdraw from the accord and his administration has moved to roll back environmental regulations.

The advisory panel's six members include Tim Smith, director of environmental, social and governance shareholder engagement at Walden Asset Management, and Bevis Longstreth, a retired partner with the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Longstreth has held a number of other finance-related positions; he was a commissioner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a member of the Pension Finance Committee of The World Bank.

Also on the panel is Cary Krosinsky, co-founder and director of the Carbon Tracker Initiative and Real Impact Tracker, principal at NPV Associates, and sustainability advisor at BlueSky Investment Management. Other members are Alicia Seiger, deputy director of an energy policy and finance center at Stanford University and a Ceres board member; George Serafeim, director at the sustainability think tank High Meadows Institute and co-founder of financial advisory group KKS Advisors; and Joy Williams, senior advisor for the climate risk and sustainability consulting firm Zizzo Strategy.

DiNapoli in January announced that the pension fund would add US$2 billion to a low-emissions index it established in 2016. The fund now has US$4 billion in the low-emissions index, which represents just a fraction of its US$201.3 billion in assets. DiNapoli and the fund, through shareholder proposals, have also persuaded companies such as Duke Energy Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and PPL Corp. to begin disclosing their climate risks.

Moreover, New York has established a requirement to increase its usage of electricity from "clean" energy resources to 50% by 2030. Cuomo in January announced plans to use NY Green Bank to invest at least $200 million to develop 1,500 MW of energy storage technologies.