Governments were asked to increase the flow of climate finance and reform the global financial system at the opening ceremony of COP29 by Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change. Stiell said agreement on a new climate finance goal is “entirely in the self-interest of every nation”, rather than an act of charity. “If at least two thirds of the world’s nations cannot afford to cut emissions quickly, then every nation pays a brutal price,” he said. “If nations can’t build resilience into supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune.” Agreement on the New Collective Quantified Goal, which will determine financial support for developing nations impacted by climate change, is a key priority at this year’s climate COP. “We must work harder to reform the global financial system,” Stiell added. “Giving countries the fiscal space they so desperately need.” The gap between current climate investment and the funds needed until 2030 to achieve the net zero targets of the Paris Agreement currently stands at US$6 trillion annually, according to research from the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and law firm A&O Shearman. This equates to approximately 6% of global annual GDP or 2.5% of global investable assets. To increase private-sector climate finance flows, investors surveyed by the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change called on governments to set 1.5°C-aligned sector pathways to help their portfolios meet the Paris goals (52%), and introduce more “clearly defined” public-private financing mechanisms for climate adaptation and resilience projects (50%). Data and analytics firm MSCI’s latest Net Zero Tracker – which assesses listed companies across 15 markets – reported that 24% of listed companies have set a target aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, an increase of seven percentage points from last year. It also found that 62% of listed companies are on an emissions trajectory that would result in warming greater than 2°C, with 24% on trajectories which would exceed 3.2°C.
