Welcome! To the first A Future Worth Living In blog, and what a week to start. My hope is that this corner of my website becomes a place to reflect on what is currently happening in the world of finance, and to also look to the future. I will be sharing my own thoughts and work, and inviting other inspiring leaders to write about their work across the finance and sustainability sectors. But first, to COP27…
COP27 in Egypt
The second week of COP27 is coming to a close and finance continues to be the sticking point in negotiations. It was always going to be a difficult subject at COP27, as nations such as Pakistan and Puerto Rico suffer the extreme effects of climate change, whilst waiting for the promised financial support to materialise.
Climate finance has three key purposes;
to reduce emissions,
to adapt to climate change and
to pay for loss and damage.
Adaptation
In 2015 developed countries pledged $100 billion to help developing nations adapt to climate change and cut emissions. This is yet to be delivered.
Loss & Damage
Compensation for loss and damage was rejected by the EU and US at COP26, but the fight continues at COP27, with the drafted text for a loss and damage fund recently announced.
Enabling a Just Transition
The President of COP27 and Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, acknowledged that “without appropriate and fair finance serving as a catalyst, we will all continue to struggle in delivering impactful climate action.”
A new Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) deal was announced with Indonesia this Tuesday, 15 November, but experts are calling for greater transparency to be built into the public and private finance deal. The first JETP deal was announced last year with South Africa, and has been beset by issues, including around finance transparency.
More to come on the role of the Just Energy Transition in future blogs, as we take to the road to explore how a small town in Australia is moving away from coal.
Talking about a 'future worth living in'
I've had some great conversations over the last week or so, from Katherine Trebeck on rethinking growth and a well-being economy; Jon Alexander on his new book Citizens and of course joining Adam Matthews on the Talking Responsibly podcast. This month Adam and I spoke with the CEO of Antofagasta, Iván Arriagada, on the role of responsible mining in providing the necessary minerals for the low carbon transition. I'll close with some words from Ivan on whether Governments are doing enough...
"Climate change requires multilateral agreements and collaboration and being able to take action in a coordinated way, and we're seeing that system fail to meet that objective. We're getting there too late, it's taking too much time. We are, to a large extent, running out of time to make these decisions when you consider the urgency around climate change. So, I don’t think governments get it, in terms of the urgency or the public policy requirements involved in transitioning to an economy that addresses climate change."
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