Public employees who contribute to Colorado’s pension system have called on state lawmakers to enact a first-of-its-kind measure that would require the fund to factor the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals into its investment decisions.
The provision, tucked into a sweeping climate bill, mandates that the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, or PERA, analyze both environmental and financial risk before it casts votes at annual shareholder meetings. If it were to pass, the measure would have far-reaching effects: One in 10 Coloradans is a PERA member.
