By REUTERS – COP 27 EGYPT
Big business more than ever is under pressure to channel money into curbing climate change – and yet the chances of UN talks providing the necessary spur have slimmed as the Ukraine war, high energy prices and geopolitical tensions take precedence.
In interviews, more than a dozen US and European finance leaders were pessimistic the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt starting November 6 can make clear progress.
What they want are signals on the pace of regulation that would allow company boards to plan their climate policy.
But as governments have lately been distracted by world events, they fear countries will fail to provide any major new commitments.
“Geopolitical relations going into COP27 are at one of the worst levels in recent history,” said Luke Sussams, head of ESG and Sustainable Finance, EMEA at Jefferies.
“The age-old dilemma of climate finance, facilitated between the developed and the developing world, will of course be critical. We, I don’t think, are too optimistic that many resolutions will be met in that regard.”
A UN report published in October underlined the urgency of the climate problem and that emissions must drop 43 percent by the end of the decade to prevent the worst impacts of a hotter planet.
The best hope could be to prevent the progress so far being undone.
“Avoiding a rollback of existing pledges and commitments… could probably be considered a success,” Benedict Buckley, research analyst at ClearBridge Investments, said.
Many companies made pledges to cut emissions last year, but like many governments, they have yet to work out how those will be implemented.
More than 550 financial firms are members of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, aiming to cut their emissions and push companies in the real economy that rely on their financing to do the same, but the pace of action has been slow.
Not enough done
“The reality is that not enough has been done in the last 12 months – some would argue we have moved backwards,” said Hortense Bioy, Global Director of Sustainability Research at Morningstar.
The biggest disruption since last year’s Glasgow climate talks has been the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a major oil and gas exporter.
Europe in particular has been forced to rethink its previous reliance on Russian gas and to seek alternatives. In the short term that includes coal, undermining a deal the UN summit in Glasgow to phase out its use. However, as this year’s high oil and gas prices have rewarded those producing fossil fuels.
By Ross Kerber and by Simon Jessop
Share this news
This Year’s Most Read News Stories
For years, a UK mining giant was untouchable in Zambia for pollution until a former miner’s son took them on
For years, the people in the villages around Chingola in Zambia endured frequent health challenges and dead fish floating around in their water source, but that was just the beginning of their nightmare.Continue Reading
Shock waves hit Zanzibar’s Real Estate industry
The revocation of British developer Pennyroyal’s leasehold for the construction of Blue Amber Resort by the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar has sent shock waves in the nascent property market on the Isles.Continue Reading
Zanzibar: Containers and dhows carrying alcohol stuck at Malindi Port
ZMMI, Scotch Store and One Stop Company have filed contempt of court case against Nicholas Eshalin, the chief executive officer of the Zanzibar Multipurpose TerminalContinue Reading
