UK companies, investors call for mandatory climate plan disclosures

LONDON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - British companies and investors
including BT, Tesco, Aviva and Legal &
General Investment Management on Monday urged the
British government to make large companies disclose their
net-zero climate transition plans.

The government has asked companies voluntarily to set
net-zero targets and disclose their transition plans ahead of
the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow next month.

But the institutions, which include investors managing more
than 4.5 trillion pounds ($6.13 trillion) in assets, said this
did not go far enough, calling for a deadline of 2025 to make
such disclosures mandatory for big firms.

Mark Versey, CEO of Aviva Investors, said mandatory
transition plans were "vital if companies’ net-zero commitments
are to translate into the reduction in global emissions required
to meet the Paris Agreement".

Britain's local government pension schemes, hedge fund TCI
and asset manager Sarasin last week told UK listed companies to
allow shareholders a vote on their transition plans.

($1 = 0.7338 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)