Disclosure is the key to unlocking more funds to fight climate change
Green financing accounts for only a tiny portion of the overall capital markets, and is dominated by governments, corporates and development banks
New York Climate Week began on September 24 and ends on Sunday, September 30. It did so with the world at a critical juncture in its response to climate change. The contrast with two years ago is stark. The Paris Agreement had just been signed and the stage seemed set for accelerated action against climate change. Now, optimism has given way to concern. Emissions are rising, not falling, and the world is some way short of the Paris ambition of restricting global warming to 2º above pre-industrial times — let alone the 1.5° that most scientists agree is the minimum safe level. These goals are not yet out of reach, but could be unless action against climate change steps up a gear. Much depends on how rapidly we can shift financial flows away from high-carbon industries and activities towards ‘greener’ ones.
There is some cause for cheer here. Recent research for HSBC by East & Partners, a research and analysis firm, shows that investors and companies are increasingly incorporati...
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