Thirty fund management groups overseeing more than $9tn of assets pledged to commit to achieving net zero carbon emissions within their investment portfolios by 2050 or sooner, increasing pressure on some of the world’s biggest polluters to tackle climate change risks across their business models.

The launch of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative comes just before the five-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement 12 December, where goals were set by world leaders to reduce greenhouse emissions and limit global warming to 1.5°C.