Event: Can Finance Save the Climate?

Two-thirds of current CO2 emissions will come from the developing world & nearly all future growth in greenhouse gases will be driven by non-OECD economies. Government intervention is critical, but will never be enough. A big thanks to our panellists who brought their expertise to help find solutions: Johanna Köb from Zurich Insurance, Christoph Grobbel from South Pole, Andreas Arvanitakis from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Luke Franson from responsAbility.

To recap:

• Zurich Insurance has made the pledge to make everything they do 1.5 degree compliant, and urge other large organizations to follow their lead.

• For South Pole, mitigation, not adaptation, is the way forward. We must innovate for our children’s future and we must do it now.

• Governments need to get out of the way of private investment in order for sustainable finance to move forward.

• No one understands climate change like the players in emerging markets, because they are the ones who have to deal with it most. Our financing and support means that they can take action that has implications for the entire globe.

Now is the time:

• Impact investing does not mean compromising on returns. Choose a green pension fund/portfolio to help save the climate.

• Use your voting rights, both politically but also as a shareholder, to make a difference.

• Innovation is key. How can you/your company collaborate with us and others to help mitigate climate change?

• Engaging private sector players like responsAbility is key, because we have the know-how, on the ground presence, the investment platforms, as well as the support for our investments in the form of Technical Assistance (TA).