COP 26: UK pledges £500m to protect rainforests from deforestation November 6, 2021 The UK has committed £500m of public money to protect five million hectares of rainforests worldwide from deforestation. The pledge was made at the COP 26 climate summit in Glasgow, and follows prime minister Boris Johnson calling for an “end to the great chainsaw massacre” after 100 countries signed up to reverse deforestation by 2030. [...]
How finance can help forge a cleaner future for all November 5, 2021 | City Talk This article first appeared in ICAS’ CA magazine. Finance can help forge a cleaner future for all, and the contribution of accountants will prove essential, says James Alexander, CEO of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association Earlier this year, the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) celebrated its 30th birthday by publishing its policy [...]
COP26: China, US, India and Australia absent from global coal pact November 4, 2021 China, US, and India and Australia have not joined 48 nations pledging to phase out coal production. All four countries are collectively responsible for over 50 per cent of coal emissions. The pact was agreed at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, and commits countries to ending coal power usage in the 2030s across major [...]
COP26: IMF calls for developed economies to face higher carbon costs November 3, 2021 The International Monetary Fund is pushing for a global price on carbon, and wants wealthier countries to pay a greater share of the costs. The financial institution’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva has proposed an international carbon price floor to ensure “large emitters have compatible carbon pricing”. Speaking at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, she [...]
Johnson apologises to Israeli minister who was unable to access COP26 in wheelchair November 2, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson has apologised to an Israeli minister who was unable to access COP26 in her wheelchair, and had to return to her hotel 50 miles away. Johnson said he was sorry for the “confusion” when he met minister Karine Elharrar with Israel’s prime minister Naftali Bennett. Elharrar, who has muscular dystrophy, told [...]
Cop26: Major economies sign deal to promote emerging green technologies November 2, 2021 The world’s ten largest economies have today signed up to a commitment to work with businesses to encourage tens of billions of pounds of investment into emerging green technology. The deal, signed at Cop26 by the 40 countries that make up 70 per cent of the globe’s economic activity, will see “countries and businesses … [...]
Investors warn Big Four of AGM rebellions over climate accounting November 2, 2021 An investor group managing around $4.5tn worth of assets have issued a warning to the top four auditing giants to start including climate risk into their audits, or risk rebellions at AGMs, according to reports. In a letter seen by Reuters, which first reported the news, the investors told the Big Four auditors that unless [...]
‘Go green or go home’, City Lord Mayor urges finance industry amid climate talks November 2, 2021 The finance industry “cannot afford to hold back” in pumping capital behind the world’s climate efforts, the City’s Lord Mayor has warned. “The stakes could not be higher,” Lord Mayor William Russell told senior financiers at the Green Horizon Summit. The summit, organised by the City of London Corporation and the Green Finance Institute, has [...]
Small businesses look to COP26 for fiscal support in the great sustainability push November 2, 2021 Small businesses are hoping COP26 will unlock more financial support and policy to help them become more sustainable, according to a new report from the Federation of Small Business (FSB). The majority of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are concerned about climate change, but just one in three have a plan in place to [...]
Johnson: Other climate promises will just be ‘blah blah blah’ unless leaders act at COP26 November 1, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson has called climate change the real world’s ‘doomsday device’, as he welcomed world leaders ahead of two weeks of climate negotiations at COP26 today. “We are in roughly the same position, my fellow global leaders, as James Bond today, except that the tragedy is that this is not a movie, and [...]