UN
Climate Change
Global
Climate Action
21
April
2021 | |
High Level Climate Champions
Newsletter | |
Finance Unites for Net
Zero | |
The
world’s biggest banks, asset owners and asset
managers are uniting today to launch the Glasgow
Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) -
bringing the full breadth of the financial
system together, for the first time, under a
single framework for driving the transition to
zero emissions.
The
event will be hosted by Mark Carney, the UK
Prime Minister’s Finance Advisor for COP26 and
UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance,
alongside the UNFCCC High-Level Champions and
the UN Race
to Zero
campaign.
If
we are to meet the challenge - and seize the
opportunity - of creating a healthy, resilient,
zero-emissions economy by 2050, then every
finance commitment needs to take climate change
into account. Bringing together the full
financial system - from asset managers to owners
to insurers to banks to ratings agencies to
stock exchanges - GFANZ will raise the bar on
the finance sector’s climate targets and
coordinate action.
Calculations
suggest that the financial system is funding a
global temperature increase of more than 3°C,
and that over $50 trillion of investment is
needed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. The
funding gap is still pegged at 60-85 percent of
that sum.
All
GFANZ member alliances must be accredited by the
Race to Zero, which sets robust criteria to
ensure that members set interim and long term
targets for reaching net zero emissions by 2050
and regularly report on their
progress. | |
Bankers and Insurers for Net
Zero | |
The
industry-led Net Zero Banking Alliance, convened
by the UN, also launches today, with 43 banks
from 23 countries, and combined assets of $28.5
trillion. They include Bank of America Merrill
Lynch, Barclays, Citi Group, HSBC, Morgan
Stanley, NatWest and Standard
Chartered.
The
banks aim to transition the operational and
attributable emissions from their lending and
investment portfolios in line with net zero by
2050. They will also set a science-based interim
target for 2030 or sooner within 18 months of
joining, and targets for every five years
onwards. Their first 2030 targets will focus on
the most emissions-intensive sectors in their
portfolios, including agriculture, oil and gas,
coal, cement, iron and steel, transport and real
estate.
The
UN-convened Net Zero Insurance Alliance is
expected to launch at the COP26 summit. It will
be established by AXA, Allianz, Aviva, Munich
Re, SCOR, Swiss Re and Zurich Insurance
Group. | |
US Companies Lead The
Charge | |
On
the eve of the Leaders Summit on Climate, major
companies including Walmart, Visa, Netflix, Etsy
and Twitter are leading a cohort of ambitious US
companies joining the Race to Zero through the
Business
Ambition for 1.5°C
campaign, setting science-based targets with
robust interim goals and immediate action
plans.
This
comes after 310 businesses signed an open
letter
calling on the US to at least halve its
emissions by 2030, including some of the largest
companies in the US - Apple, Facebook,
Microsoft, McDonald’s, Google, Nike and
Starbucks.
The
Race to Zero has grown by 20 percent in the last
month, now counting nearly 3,400 companies,
cities, states, regions and universities. The US
is the second-largest country for corporate
climate action, with 301
companies.
The
We Mean Business Coalition and Ceres, which
supported the open letter from companies, are
hosting
an event today
to talk about business climate action, featuring
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and
leaders from Danish energy company Ørsted,
cement giant LafargeHolcim and IKEA Retail
US.
| |
- More
than a third of the global
mobile industry by revenue has now
committed to credible net zero emissions
targets, making it the first industry to
announce
a critical
breakthrough. While the sector is
committed to eliminating its emissions, it
believes its biggest contribution will be
helping other sectors reduce their emissions
through digitalisation.
- COP26
President Alok Sharma
wrote an open
letter setting
out the expectations he has heard for
negotiations at the summit and the UK’s plans
for accelerating progress. The priorities are
“inclusive action” - including through the
Marrakech Partnership - as well as the Paris
Rulebook, adaptation, loss and damage, finance
and mitigation.
- Two
days after the letter was published,
the COP
Bureau agreed
to hold a virtual meeting to advance preparations
for the COP26, from 31 May to 17 June. The
informal discussion follows the Bureau’s
principle of maximizing progress and minimizing
delay. Decisions will only be adopted at the
next formal meeting in person.
- Danish
energy company Ørsted
has released a white
paper telling
the story of how it transformed from a
coal-intensive power generator with a growing
oil and gas production into a green energy
company - and why it was the best strategic,
financial and environmental
approach.
- The
new Race
to Zero Built Environment System Map
enables
policymakers, businesses, investors, innovators
and people to explore and visualize their roles
in the shift to a decarbonized built
environment. The digital
platform was
created by the UN High-level Climate Action
Champions and built environment
experts.
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