SACRAMENTO, CA — On Monday, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) reported that the value of investments it classifies as climate solutions reached $71 billion as of June 30, 2026, up from $59.7 billion a year earlier. The increase brings the nation’s largest public pension fund closer to its goal of $100 billion in climate investments by 2030.

Sierra Club welcomed CalPERS’ continued commitment to climate-solutions investing and called on the fund to adopt stronger standards and transparency around what counts toward its $100 billion goal. Sierra Club also urged CalPERS to prioritize investments that support real-world emissions reductions and address climate risks across its broader portfolio to protect the retirement security of the workers and retirees it serves.

In response, Ben Cushing, Director of Sierra Club’s Sustainable Finance Campaign, released the following statement:

“It’s encouraging to see CalPERS make progress toward its climate-solutions goal, but a growing investment total doesn’t tell us how much new money is helping build clean energy and cut emissions. Reducing climate risk also means looking at where CalPERS invests across the whole portfolio. CalPERS has already taken the important step of using its votes to hold company directors accountable for how they handle climate risk. It can build on that work by adopting a policy to stop financing fossil fuel expansion and backing climate projects that need new investment to get built or expand.”

3 billion increase came from both new investments and gains on assets it already held. CalPERS also reported that financed emissions across the asset classes covered by its analysis rose by approximately 6 percent over the past year, largely reflecting investments in higher-emitting assets that it expects to decarbonize over time.

Source link