February 10, 2025 report to rank 32 of the largest and most influential pensions in the U.S.

On Monday, February 10, 2025 the Sierra Club and Stand.earth will release the second-annual report “The Hidden Risk in State Pensions: Analyzing U.S. Public Pensions’ Responses to the Climate Crisis in Proxy Voting.” The report analyzes proxy voting guidelines, 2024 proxy voting records, and voting transparency of 32 public pension funds collectively representing over $3.8 trillion in assets under management (AUM). Learn more: What is proxy voting?

• If you are interested in receiving an embargoed copy of the report, please email lindsay@stand.earth or ginny.roscamp@sierraclub.org.
• Sign up for a webinar at 9am PT / 12pm ET on Thursday, February 6, to learn more about the report findings at https://sc.org/HiddenRisk.

While last year’s report focused on self-identified climate leaders, this latest version looks at the proxy voting records and guidelines of the largest and most influential public pension funds in the U.S. This broadened scope includes county and city pension funds, as well as pension funds located in states restricting Environmental, Social, and Governance investing through “anti-ESG” legislation and executive actions. The report highlights crucial actions that pensions should take to protect their portfolios from climate risks that will accelerate if the Trump Administration’s agenda to support big polluters goes unchecked.

The pensions analyzed will include the pensions for New York City, Los Angeles County, and the University of California, and pensions in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

As long-term investment fiduciaries, pension funds should be among the institutions most alarmed about the economic risks associated with the climate crisis. Some have taken public strides forward, such as announcing net-zero pledges, investing in climate solutions, or defending the right to invest responsibly. These are critical steps forward. However, as the report will show, the institutions responsible for stewarding trillions of dollars on behalf of the American people fail to match that record with strong standards to address climate-related financial risk in their proxy voting strategies.

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