Lawmakers question biggest UK pensions over climate change risks

* Top 25 schemes asked to explain in lawmaker letter

* Schemes manage more than 550 bln stg in assets

* Government letter shows trustees still unsure on duty

By Simon Jessop and Carolyn Cohn

LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest pension fundshave been asked by lawmakers to explain how they are managingthe impact of climate change risks on their investments.

"We want to know what pension funds are doing to safeguardpeople's pensions from the financial risks of climate change,"Mary Creagh, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said.

The request follows growing pressure from policy-makersacross the world for investors to do more to manage and mitigatethe risks of environmental change.

The 25 largest schemes, which collectively manage more than550 billion pounds ($760 billion) in assets, include thosemanaging retirement savings for the country's universities aswell as staff at BT and HSBC.

Pension fund investments in insurance companies could be atrisk as insurers face higher pay-outs and investments in energycompanies relying on fossil fuels could lose value as the worldseeks to meet commitments to keep global warming, Creagh said ina statement.

Creagh asked in the letter if climate change risk was beingconsidered by pension schemes at board level and what investmentstrategy changes they schemes were making.

In a separate letter, also published on Monday, theDepartment for Work and Pensions said there was still"widespread misunderstanding" on the part of pension schemetrustees on their duty in relation to environmental risks.

Luke Hildyard, policy lead for stewardship and corporategovernance at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association,said the threat to pension fund investments from the economicimpact of climate change was "definitely an issue that trusteesshould be making time to discuss and seeking advice on".

($1 = 0.7236 pounds)(Additional reporting by Andy BruceEditing by Alexander Smith)