Climate Change, Net-Zero Emissions In Spotlight At COP26
The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) got off to a rocky start following mixed messages from preliminary discussions at the G20 Summit in Rome.
BBC News, which reported on the summit under the headline “G20 pledge climate action but make few commitments”, said climate change activists were disappointed by the tone of the event. According to the BBC, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said leaders’ promises without action were “starting to sound hollow” and US President Joe Biden said Russia and China “basically did not show up” on climate matters.
COP26, which runs from 31 October until 12 November in Glasgow, Scotland, is faced with the almost impossible task of getting world economies to make good on net-zero emissions targets by 2050. These tough targets are seen as an imperative to limit global average temperature increases to 1.5°C by the turn of the century.
Unfortunately, the current trajectory suggests a global average temperature increase of 2.7°C by then, bringing with it a range of extreme weather risks. And the rising frequency and severity of droughts, floods and storms will result in more deaths and economic hardship.
Banks, asset managers, insurers and reinsurers are holding a watching brief on COP26 proceedings, as they are seen by policymakers as key influencers of investment decision making. It is hoped, for example, that emissions can be reduced by restricting capital flows to dirty industries. The logic is that as funding for coal-fired power dries up, so will projects that contribute to global carbon emissions.
Source : Africa Ahead
