COP27: Big business under pressure to channel money into climate change fight
Global News
Many companies made pledges to cut emissions last year, but like many governments, they have yet to work out how those will be implemented.
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 U.S. and European finance leaders were pessimistic the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt starting Nov. 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 rarely been more 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 per cent by the end of the decade to prevent the worst impacts of a hotter planet.
The countries most exposed to the effects of temperatures that hit records this year are often the poorest and they are likely at next week’s talks to demand that any new promises they make to reduce their emissions are conditional on financial help from the rich world.
While they are looking to governments to provide more cash, the private sector will also be needed to fund the bulk of the renewable energy and other projects to cut emissions and offset the impact of climate change.