Does 'Green Finance' offer a solution to climate change?

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2020

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ahead of the 2021 Climate Change Conference, big names in the world of finance are banding together to create ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With new improved carbon offset markets, monitoring and standardisation of emissions goals and an emphasis on channelling capital to projects based on renewable energy, evangelists of so-called 'Green Finance' believe capitalism can reinvent itself to the benefit of the planet. Rhian-Mari Thomas, chief executive of the Green Finance Institute and convenor of the just-finished Green Horizons Summit, outlines the vision. May Boeve of the environmental group 350.org says much of capital is still directed towards climate-damaging industries. And Bill Winters, chief executive of Standard Chartered, explains how an effective carbon offset market would work.

Produced by Frey Lindsay.

(Picture credit: Getty Images.)

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Justin Rowland. You are listening to Business Daily and today we will be asking a huge question.
0:08.7	Can global capitalism solve the climate crisis?
0:12.9	Capitalism that focuses purely on returns for the shareholder really does seem to have had its day.
0:19.2	But when we think about broader sets of stakeholders,
0:21.7	and I include in that list, nature, people and communities, that is now how many in the finance world
0:28.8	are looking towards the future. That may be so, say many environmentalists, but capitalism
0:34.4	won't work quickly enough. We collectively are still putting far too many of our financial resources
0:40.9	towards making climate change worse.
0:42.9	Despite the fact that the oil industry hit record lows just a few months ago,
0:48.4	that is the industry that is being bailed out country after country.
0:51.8	Finance and all our futures here on Business Daily from the BBC
0:56.4	World Service.
1:01.4	This week, the city of London has been hosting the Green Horizons Summit, a conference with
1:08.0	an heroic objective. It aims to restructure world capitalism enlisting it in the battle against climate change, no less.
1:18.0	And the cast list reads like Global Finance's answer to one of those Hollywood superhero blockbusters.
1:28.3	It starred Bill Gates.
1:30.5	Companies, investors and shareholders can play a pivotal role in this transition
1:34.6	to build the net zero future.
1:37.4	Michael Bloomberg made an appearance.
1:39.4	I've always believed that fighting climate change and strengthening the economy go hand in hand.
1:44.8	The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.
1:47.7	I believe this moment marks the start of a new chapter.
	...

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