Governance, risk & compliance Banking on a “I
n short, our world needs climate action on all fronts – everything, everywhere, all at once.” It was a timely and cinematic reference from the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, reacting to the release of a landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the collective efforts to keep global warming below that all-important 1.5ºC threshold. Adding that the report shows progress remains achievable, Guterres was nonetheless blunt about the consequences of inaction. “The climate time bomb is ticking,” he said. “But today’s IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time bomb. It is a survival guide for humanity.” Though it’s yet to be published in full, in short, it’s clear the document will be a sobering read – and a call to action for executives across a range of industries. Banks, indeed, have not been spared the gaze of the UN or IPCC. Following the publication of an earlier report by the panel, in August 2021,
cooler future
With the climate under increasing pressure, banks are being called upon to help in our collective fi ght to protect it. One way of answering the call is to support retail customers to make sustainable investments. Andrew Tunnicliffe talks with ING’s global head of sustainability Anne-Sophie Castelnau, and Eric Usher, head of the UNEP Finance Initiative, to fi nd out how fi nance is redrawing the battle lines.
Guterres singled out the world’s financial institutions for the role they play in climate change – and the one they could collectively play in addressing it. He said that report must sound a “death knell for coal and fossil fuels,” adding that the climate posed enormous financial risk to investment managers, asset owners and businesses that “should be measured, disclosed and mitigated”. In its most recent report, the panel said finance, technology and international cooperation were ‘critical enablers’ for accelerated climate action. ‘If climate goals are to be achieved,’ it added, ‘both adaptation and mitigation financing would need to increase many- fold. Banks, though, would argue they are already acting. “This is not a new topic for us,” says ING’s Anne-Sophie Castelnau, global head of sustainability, adding that her bank has been focused on the issue for some time. “We see it as a major threat to the planet and want to play a role to support the world to transition to a lower carbon economy.”
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Future Banking /
www.nsbanking.com
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