ING has signed two initiatives that call on governments to adopt a strong global climate agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

In December this year, the United Nations will negotiate a new global climate agreement to follow the Kyoto Protocol, which will terminate in 2012. ING has signed the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change and the Investor Statement on the Urgent Need for a Global Agreement on Climate Change.

The Copenhagen Communiqué was issued by The Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change. The Communiqué is set to become the definitive statement from the business community ahead of the international negotiations taking place in Copenhagen in December.

Over 500 companies are participating, including Allianz, GE, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Philips, Shell, Unilever and Vodafone.

The Copenhagen Communiqué will be launched during the UN Leadership Forum for Climate Change on 22 September in New York, where it will be handed in person to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon. Catherine Smith, CEO ING US Retirement Services, will be present on behalf of ING.

The Investor Statement was issued by several groups, including the UN Environmental Program Finance Initiative, which ING is a member of. This statement is both consistent and complementary to the Copenhagen Communiqué.

The key differentiator is that the latter caters to a broad corporate audience, whereas the Investor Statement aims to specifically formulate the views and policy needs of the capital markets. Signees include Allianz, Deutsche, HSBC, and Swiss Re.