Great to see the start on Monday of London Climate Action Week – the largest city-wide event of its kind in Europe, attracting over 45,000 people a year.
The aim is to use the capital’s unparalleled attractions ‘to accelerate global climate action’ and reinforce the city’s status as a global climate leader.
The week’s many happenings include Investor Action on Climate Resilience: Charting a Course Towards Effective Stewardship, on Wednesday 25 Jun.
The Government and third sector play a huge role in the energy transition but the real changemaker is private capital and don’t believe the negative headlines.
True, market fluctuations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to higher electricity prices for homes and businesses, and the UK Government could probably be doing more to ease the load for UK manufacturers especially.
The backlash against these challenges has seen some people questioning the extent to which investment managers should be guided by environmental and sustainable considerations. Some banks have lowered the volume on their green investment talk, possibly prompted in part by threats from the US Securities and Exchange Commission to curb ESG-related actions by investors.
But evidence of man-made climate change grows by the year and the consequences – in wildfires, crop failures, general environmental depletion and much else – are all too real.
Meanwhile, support for investment in clean energy, particularly among the young – the consumers and financial services customers of tomorrow – remains high. And on the business side, decarbonisation of the economy is still a dominant market force for professional property investors, lenders and buyers.
Until recently Europe’s leading inward investment top location for renewable energy, the UK this month lost its crown to France, according to the accountants and consultants EY.
Let’s hope therefore that events such as Wednesday’s, on investor action on climate resilience, will help turn that around and focus minds on delivering a sustainable future through green energy.
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