Dear John,
This summer, nearly one-third of all Americans lived through a climate related disaster — leaving families’ health and property in danger.
In the face of an unfolding crisis, the U.S. Department of Labor is taking a step to help safeguard one critical part of our economy and a cornerstone of many Americans’ financial futures – workers’ retirement savings. Under their proposed rule, retirement plan managers can consider climate change when making 401(k) investment decisions. By adding this extra level of risk management our retirement funds will be protected from the substantial and growing risks posed by climate change alongside other financial risks.
But this policy will only be approved with your support. Send a public comment to the Department of Labor urging them to protect our retirement portfolios from climate change! [link removed]
There are over half a million 401(k) and other ERISA defined contribution plans in the U.S., with nearly $8 trillion in assets under management. However, only 13% of all 401(k) participants have access to funds that actively integrate climate risks and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. In fact, less than 1% of all assets are invested in these funds.
The Labor Department’s proposed rule can help reverse this worrying trend by enabling fiduciaries to consider climate and other ESG factors when selecting investments and exercising shareholder rights while continuing to uphold fundamental fiduciary obligations. It would also allow ESG and climate-friendly funds to serve as “qualified default investments alternatives” – funds that employees automatically opt into upon enrolling in a 401(k) plan.
Now more than ever we our leaders take concrete, urgent action to protect families, retirees, and all who depend on a financial system from the destabilizing effects of climate change. Submit your public comment in favor of DoL’s new rule! [link removed]
Thank you for your support,
Wes Rogerson
Manager, Grassroots Organizing & Activism
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