Some of the world’s biggest institutional investment companies yesterday urged US Congress to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.

The group of 40 investors, who combined manage over $1.75 trillion in assets, today released a climate change action plan demanding mandatory emission targets and stringent environmental regulations at a UN summit hosted by the Ceres investment coalition.

As well as asking Congress to enforce larger emission cuts, investors collectively pledged to invest $10bn in clean technology ventures over the next two years as part of the Investor Network on Climate Risk Action Plan.

"With today's action plan, investors are advancing the need for closer scrutiny of investments to include the financial risks of climate change, while also harnessing emerging opportunities," said Florida State chief financial officer Alex Sink.

The nine goals set out in the plan include a commitment to reducing energy use in core real-estate holdings by 20 per cent in the next three years and calls for companies to improve their disclosure on climate change issues and carbon emissions.

Investment analysts were also encouraged to report on the potential impact of carbon costs for assets, particularly on carbon-intensive investments such as power stations.

The plan reflects the many green investment opportunities that exist today that not only could help with mitigation and adaptation to global warming, but could also build profits and benefit the global economy, said Mindy Lubber, president of the Ceres investor coalition and director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk.

"Leveraging the vast energy efficiency opportunities at home and abroad holds especially great promise for investors," she added.

In related news, Shell reportedly warned that only a price on carbon of close to $100 per tonne, more than treble the current price in the EU's emissions trading scheme, is needed to make investments in Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) systems cost effective.

Speaking to the Guardian, Jeremy Bentham, vice president of business environment at Shell, argued the EU had to hasten regulatory changes over the next five years, if it wanted to effectively "shape the pattern of energy supply and global warming in coming decades".