How the US Auto Industry is Dismantling the World's Most Successful Climate Policy

The historic fuel economy emissions standards save consumers money at the pump, protect our national security by reducing our reliance on foreign oil, and are the single greatest action the United States has taken to fight climate change. Under these standards, the U.S. auto industry has created hundreds of thousands of jobs. Efforts to weaken these standards should be put in the headlights. By making a U-turn on the strong standards that were reaffirmed just last year, and which are economically feasible and technologically achievable, the Trump administration will slam the breaks on all the benefits for consumers, our country, and our planet.

We are a universal owner of the worlds' listed companies and in it for the long term. As such sustainability issues are at the core of our investment strategy. We regard climate change as a fundamental challenge to our portfolio, the interests of our citizen-beneficiary's interests and the world. We have in the recent past, blacklisted companies we feel are acting in a manner counter to the Paris Agreement, including on the basis of their activities holding back policy aimed at its implementation and will continue to monitor such activities by companies in our portfolio closely.

The contrast between the public statements of auto companies and the actions of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Global Automakers, their US lobby groups, is stark. To lobby against pre-agreed standards which would raise industry performance appears to make no business sense, especially for electric vehicle and efficiency leaders like Nissan, Honda, and Toyota.