Finance must combat climate change - or else

(Eco Business, 16 Nov 2021) Despite the increasing urgency of the climate crisis, many of the world’s most powerful financial actors have continued to invest in the fossil-fuel industry. But a new trend in the law is forcing institutional investors to decarbonise their portfolios – or be held legally accountable.

This summer, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its latest report, and the scariest part is just how unsurprising its contents were. Avoiding the worst, the report made clear, is still possible, but only if humanity moves to a carbon-neutral economy as quickly as possible.

“This report,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, “must sound a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before they destroy our planet.”

And yet, with the planet on fire, institutional finance is fanning the flames. Many of the world’s most powerful financial actors continue to invest in the fossil-fuel industry, even as its actions predictably lead to massive economic disruption, ecological catastrophe, and social injustice.

Until now, they have gotten away with it. But a new trend in the law is forcing institutional investors to decarbonise their portfolios – or be held legally accountable.

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Eco Business, 16 Nov 2021: Finance must combat climate change - or else

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