FUNDING from both the public and private purse are set to take centre stage at COP26 as the UK Government tries to get countries to sign up to a 12-year-old commitment.
The third day of the climate change summit revolves around finance, with events and talks from those working in governments, banks and related industries.
Former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, an envoy for the UN and Boris Johnson’s finance advisor for COP26, has been gathering banks into the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero to reform and reassess their investment portfolios.
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It’s part of a plan to move investment away from fossil fuels into green industries and those which are part of a plan to accelerate the transition to a net-zero global economy.
Meanwhile, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and London Mayor Sadiq Khan will open a session of a Green Investment Showcase to detail how private investors can help drive the green industries of the future.
Sturgeon will set out Scotland’s world leading role in sustainable industries and highlight Scotland’s Green Investment Portfolio - now valued at £2 billion and expected to reach £3 billion in 2022.
And, at UK governmental level, COP26 President Alok Sharma has been working behind the scenes trying to get concrete commitments from richer countries to pledge to finally provide funds promised in 2009.
Nicola Sturgeon will open an investment showcase in Glasgow this afternoon
Twelve years ago at a climate summit in Copenhagen, richer nations made a significant pledge to channel $100 billion a year to less wealthy nations by 2020.
This didn’t come to fruition, and there are concerns that the figure may be out of reach and countries won’t be able to meet their obligations.
The cash is key for poorer countries who are more likely to suffer the effects of climate change - such as flooding, wildfires etc - and the least able to afford its consequences.
Larger nations who have a higher carbon output and signed up to the original pledge will be urged to commit to giving over cash.
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However, many have said this amount is a drop in the ocean, and nowhere near the trillions needed to truly combat climate change.
It has been reported that Chancellor Rishi Sunak plans to make the UK a net-zero financial centre.
The Tories are attempting to push the private sector to “mobilise finance” and said that financial institutions controlling 40% of global assets will align themselves to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit for global warming.
For the latest announcements as the summit gets under way for the third day, read our live blog here.
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