Finance world's climate change pledge

Today is finance day at #COP26. To kick us off, more than 450 firms representing $130 trillion of assets?have now pledged to meet the goals set out in the Paris climate agreement. But skeptics question the underlying terms of the commitments, with some saying there's no requirement for signatories to stop financing fossil-fuel expansion. Read our story here:

I have talked a lot about the need for the public and the private sectors to come together to address climate change by mobilizing investments into new technologies to build sustainable economies. Having attended #COP26 last week in Glasgow, I’m still optimistic that we can get there, but we must acknowledge that a successful transition requires much more than what’s been done so far. ? Investors have a role to play, but capitalism works best with good public policy. Governments have to work not only with companies, but with each other. And we need to be more thoughtful about how to achieve a net zero transition that is fair and just. ? World leaders in recent years have been so focused on energy supply (pressuring the private sector) but they have done very little to change consumer behavior and overall demand. This is driving up energy costs and hurting low-income communities and developing countries. The reality is that the world still depends on oil and gas for many essential functions; and oil and gas companies will be key to a successful transition. That’s why I’m more convinced than ever that we should be working with them, not against them, to develop renewable energy sources and other solutions. ? As always, I am hopeful about the future. There is a spirit of collaboration and urgency at COP26 that has been missing. We can’t let this opportunity pass.

Financial-sector leaders at #COP26 say they’re prepared to direct money into assets and projects that will stem global warming: https://lnkd.in/gEfFBt35

The global finance industry is moving to invest in climate change. A coalition of the world's largest banks and insurers that collectively control $130 trillion in assets announced yesterday they were committing that capital to hit net zero emissions targets by 2050. “We now have the essential plumbing in place to move climate change from the fringes to the forefront of finance so that every financial decision takes climate change into account,” Mark Carney, the former head of the Bank of England, who is leading the alliance, said in a statement. Do we really have the essential *plumbing* in place, though? How are we going to track the data to determine which companies are reducing emissions? How are we going to know the truth?? We need trusted, validated, transparent data to do this. This is what blockchain technology enables. If you're in the Commercial Real Estate business and want to prove to the market that your buildings are ESG friendly, how do you do it? You need trusted, validated, indexed data. And the powers that be need to be able to see the provenance of that data. The way to do this is to anchor that building efficiency data to a blockchain. This is one of the most important use cases (among many) for blockchain technology. Companies that move to integrate their data systems with blockchain will be able to move on ESG first. And the carrot dangling on the other side could be a lower cost of capital. Does this ultimately mean the global finance industry will need to integrate with blockchains in the not too distant future? Show me the incentives and I'll show you the outcome. Link in the comments to the NYT article. #commercialrealestate #blockchaintechnology #ESG #climatechange

$130 trillion??? It is a welcome headline. But to make it happen will be a lot harder as some in the article point out. Standards, taxonomies, capacity, public policy, channels, financial engineering and a lot of ingenuity will be needed! The risk is to feel good about the headline and forget the hard work ahead. #climatefinance #esgstrategy #greeneconomy

Global finance lines up to support net zero 2050 and interim goals by 2030. Mark Carney has succeeded in getting firms overseeing $130tr in funds to make commitments in general. the proof will be in how specific and concrete and fast they turn into investment decision from firm to firm, and business unit to business unit. https://lnkd.in/dsUE9-TY #investment #concrete #cop26glasgow

$130,000,000,000,000 in Climate Finance Commitments have been announced at COP26 Real change will be driven by three factors. Legislation, Finance and Governance. These will create the market conditions and incentive for firms to drive toward net-zero. The news this week from COP26 that banks and asset managers representing 40% of the world’s financial assets have now pledged to meet the goals set out in the Paris climate agreement is exciting to see. More than 450 firms representing $130 trillion of assets now belong to the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, almost double the roughly $70 trillion when GFANZ was launched in April, according to a progress report published by the coalition on Today (Wednesday 3rd November 21). Signatories must commit to use science-based guidelines to reach net zero carbon emissions by mid-century, and to provide 2030 interim goals.? Co-Chairs of GFANZ, Mark Carney and Michael Bloomberg said: “Ramping up adoption of clean energy and other sustainable infrastructure fast enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change will require trillions of dollars in new investment — likely in the ballpark of $100 trillion,” the GFANZ co-chairs wrote. “Most of that will have to come from the private sector, especially after the enormous toll that the pandemic has taken on governmental budgets.” The opportunity for new business model creation, innovation and transformation, enabled by technology and new thinking, has never been greater than now. It is encouraging, inspiring and motivating to see such a huge shift in the narrative in such a short space of time, and the level of action that will be driven by the real changes that will come out of COP. Are you excited by any of the headlines? I would look to hear your views.