The Annual Net Zero Delivery Summit at the Mansion House gathered those with the insight and levers to deliver change and call out the achievements made, as well as where more progress is urgently needed. A day of factual insights of those with the vision, passion and technicalities to try and avert the ever-increasing issues we face from climate change. Needless to say many Livery members and supporters of the Livery Climate Action Group were present and taking part.
The Sustainable Markets Initiative was the main sponsor alongside the City Corporation. SMI was launched by King Charles, in 2020 at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos. As the ‘go-to’ global private sector organisation on sustainable transition, the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s power to convene top organisations from industry and the financial services, alongside governments, is key to innovating, accelerating and delivering on a just, sustainable and prosperous future.
The Sustainable Markets Initiative’s mandate, better known as the Terra Carta, has a mission to build a coordinated global effort to enable the private sector to accelerate the achievement of global climate, biodiversity and Sustainable Development Goal targets.
The Brazilian Ambassador to the UK conveyed how Brazil has the lowest emissions of any G20 country, even with a population of 213 million, it started it’s energy transition 50 years ago during the oil crisis, now 90% of energy is from renewables.
During the sessions it was clear the impacts on sustainability in the US are being driven by the private sector not government and there was a clear warning that unless the 10% reduction in CO2 emissions is hit by 2030 funding won’t follow, it will delay the move to the higher reductions needed, a clear indication that everything that every organisation does matters.
There is hope, 150 countries signed up to renewable agriculture goals at COP, from small farmers to major corporates, illustrating that when collaborations like these happen, so does rapid change.
The finance is there, was a common theme but as reiterated many times it is just not getting deployed fast enough, adapted finance has dropped by 15-20% when it should have been rising.
Investors in the green finance sector are too risk adverse, it needs the insurance industry and government to de-risk, to rapidly see the change that is needed.
Sir Alok Sharma with the author of this blog, Paul Sheedy
As Sir Alok Sharma stated, it’s all going far too slowly.
For COP 29 the focus needs to be working as the world did during COVID, where governments and industry focused to solve that substantial issue. If we create the global efficiencies, and if backed by governments we can deliver the right incentives to do the right things.
The private sector wants to lean in, but we have hit the tipping point and we just need to do more, faster and better.
The Lord Mayor reflected that there is no difference between Green Finance and normal finance, Green Finance must be separated from government policies and backed by insurance regulators and international standards to really take off with less risks. “Let’s be optimistic in these difficult times, we can be pessimistic when times are better!”
Paul Sheedy Founder of Unifi.id, Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Constructors
The full set of talks and discussions delivered at the Net Zero Delivery Summit can be viewed at your leisure here.