‘Go green or go home’, City Lord Mayor urges finance industry amid climate talks
The finance industry “cannot afford to hold back” in pumping capital behind the world’s climate efforts, the City’s Lord Mayor has warned.
“The stakes could not be higher,” Lord Mayor William Russell told senior financiers at the Green Horizon Summit.
The summit, organised by Canada Corporation and the Green Finance Institute, has gathered the world’s financial institutions to figure out how to unleash the large-scale capital that is required to stop climate change.
“We must channel this capital into real-world projects, that can drive the green revolution in time not just for 2050 but for 2030. We can deliver both transition and growth and transform emerging and developing economies. It is also the business opportunity of a generation,” Russell said.
“Money talks, and its message is “go green or go home”.
The countries that are particularly vulnerable or exposed to climate change will need up to $300bn per year by 2030 for climate adaptation, according to the United Nations.
So far, the world has pledged $100bn to help developing nations with climate change and on the pursuit of a just transition away from fossil fuel-based practices.
However, the $100bn cash pot, which had been agreed at the 2015 Paris Agreement, is not due to arrive until 2023 – three years after it was supposed to be available.