A group of investors with $18 trillion under management is pushing to create a new international body to oversee the critical-mineral mining sector. Many pension funds and other large institutional investors tend to avoid holding shares of mining companies out of concern for ESG risks, Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer for the Church of England Pensions Board, told Semafor. That needs to change, he said, because mining is an essential prerequisite for the energy transition and for most sectors of the future global economy.
Along with PIMCO, ING, Legal & General, and other firms, Matthews announced plans on Monday to work on standing up a new entity, modeled on the International Energy Agency, that would provide more transparency to the mineral supply chain, help countries better regulate the sector, and drive investment to mining companies that abide by sound environmental and human rights practices. “This is an agenda to make this sector more investable,” he said.