COP26 is a two-week United Nations climate summit held in Glasgow, Scotland, where world leaders are gathering to discuss climate change and efforts to limit rising global temperature. Discussions were centered around deforestation, more sustainable land usage and green energy & infrastructure on this first Tuesday of the summit. As the sun sets in the U.K., we highlight the day’s five key takeaways regarding green investing and the alternative energy industry.
Blackrock CEO Larry Fink on CNBC Panel
BlackRock is a multinational investment management corporation and its CEO, Larry Fink is a major advocate for sustainable and ESG investing. During a panel discussion with CNBC Fink stated that public and private sectors need to come work together to fight climate change. He also pointed out that a creative approach is necessary in the “greening of the world.”
“We need to reimagine how we could rapidly deploy new capital into the greening of the world, but not the avoidance of hydracarbons in the short run or we’re going to have $120, $140 oil, and that’s not a fair or just transition”
– Larry Fink
President Biden Launches “First Movers Coalition”
This clean energy initiative is a platform for building private sector demand to increase innovation in clean energy technology to confront the climate crisis. It was launched in partnership with the World Economic Forum with the goal of exploring economically viable alternatives to decarbonize industry sectors such as: steel, shipping, aluminum, concrete, trucking, aviation, chemicals and direct air capture. Participating companies within these sectors represent 30% of the world’s global emissions.
The Global Methane Pledge’s 1.5°C Global Warming Target
Today, around 100 nations committed to The Global Methane Pledge which aims to cut methane emissions by 30% by 2030. This pledge was led by the US and EU in an effort to keep the world on track with the goal of keeping global warming below 2°C and as close to 1.5°C as possible. World leaders at the summit believe that reducing methane emissions will be the most effective way to reach this target temperature.
Methane is the clean and odorless main component of natural gas and has 80 times more warming power than carbon dioxide. While methane can be produced by nature, the main contributors to the significant amounts of it being leaked into the atmosphere are landfills, livestock and the oil and gas industry.
The US, UK and EU to fund South Africa’s Transition Away From Coal
The US, UK, and the EU will help fund South Africa’s transition away from coal. South Africa is one of the heaviest polluters per-capita with 90% of the country’s power generating fueled by coal.
The Breakthrough Energy Catalyst Headed By Bill Gates
Bill Gates presented The Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a program designed to raise $3 million in concessional capital to generate up to $30 million of investments intended to reduce clean technology costs and expand green product markets. Markets discussed included, Direct Air Capture, long-duration energy storage and sustainable aviation fuel. The UK also joined Bill Gates by pledging £200m ($272,431,000) of support, adding to the large-scale partnerships already in place with the European Commission and European Investment Bank and United States Department of Energy.
Looking Forward to Tomorrow at COP26
Wednesday, November 3 is Finance Day at COP26. Tomorrow we will hear from British Chancellor Rishi Sunak who will discuss progress on delivering a target $100 billion climate finance commitment, mobilizing private finance, and “resetting” the financial sector. If you are interested in following along with our daily coverage of the COP26 summit, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn and keep up with out blog posts. Click the link below to subscribe to our newsletter.
