“God, it’s brutal out here” sang Olivia Rodrigo in Glastonbury over the weekend. Those working in sustainability might say the same of the past six months. However, this week, my energy levels got a substantial shot in the arm when I attended a morning of talks around Sustainable Finance and the path to Net Zero in Moorgate, hosted by FinCity Tokyo, Jiji Press and The City UK. Below are ten quotes I took away that should give you hope.
- “Failure to de-carbonise risks corporate profitability – or worse” – so says Lord Alok Sharma, Chair of the Transition Finance Council.
- “Capital Expenditure plus Technical Innovation = a strategy for growth” according to Hiroshi Nakaso, Chair of FinCity Tokyo. He also discussed how WPU (world parity unit, a basket of currency units) indexed bonds can contribute to transition financing, smoothing out currency risk
- “You have to bring people with you” said Vanessa Havard Williams, leader of the Transition Finance Working Group, but she does worry about the pace of transition. Litigation can be used as a tool, but it should be done selectively.
- Yasuhiro Matsuda, Minister, Financial Affairs for the Embassy of Japan in the UK says Japan is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 and has founded GX, a Green transition finance accelerator
- Hideki Takada, Director of GX says the agency will provide “catalytic capital”, guarantees and equity to support and mitigate risk taking in transition finance.
- Nick Mabey, CEO of E3G and organiser of London Climate Action Week lauded the growth from 350 events last year to 700 this year. He also outlined four risks that can impact the market:
- Risk of the insurance market not holding up
- Energy price shocks, e.g. due to the Ukraine war and other conflicts
- Transition shocks amid the politics of electric vehicles and tariffs
- Global regulatory risk – regulators struggling for alignment
- David Harris, Head of Sustainable Finance at LSEG says the market for climate solutions is an $8trn opportunity, which has enjoyed a 15% CAGR over the past 15 years.
- Tomohiko Ishikawa, Chief Regulatory Engagement Officer at MUFG said – “Now it’s about execution”.
- David Semaya, Executive Chairman of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management says – “Companies that transition will become mainstream” and that “Japan takes time to build consensus. That consensus is now built.”
- “Governance comes first” – said Christine Chow, CEO of Carbon Tracker. Get that right first. She also discussed a sustainability-linked insurance discount as a viable innovation to help companies transition.
Plus, a bonus, perhaps my favourite new quote of the day – “Green-whispering” – the sustainability work that organisations are still doing, even if they’re not shouting about it. It’s brutal out here – but all we can do is try our best. 💜
