Just transition to be focal point in London and UN climate event
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The City of London Corporation, together with the Egyptian presidency of the UN’s Conference of the Parties 2022, will host a ‘Net Zero Delivery Summit’ at Mansion House in London in May 2023.
The event will focus on how tackling climate change can be delivered in a fair and inclusive way, particularly in developing countries. It will take place at the halfway point between COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, and will be livestreamed.
The City Corporation hosted a Finance for Impact Summit in July this year, where it also launched a ‘Just Transition Finance Challenge’.
The Corporation’s policy chair Chris Hayward said the pursuit of a fair, just and inclusive transition is crucial for the success of the Glasgow Climate Pact.
The pact was hammered out at last year’s COP to keep the 1.5 Celsius target of the Paris Agreement alive, as many countries’ existing commitments were falling short of this goal. It also links the target to a just transition.
“This event will focus squarely on delivering a just transition to net zero. The financial and professional services sector has a critical role to play in mobilising capital into emerging markets to support mitigation, adaptation and resilience,” said Hayward. By showcasing examples, he said the event will inspire business leaders and policymakers.
Ambassador Mohamed Nasr, director of the Climate, Environment and Sustainable Development Department at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said he welcomed the event’s focus on a just transition. Climate change responses should be integrated with sustainable social and economic development, recognising the specific needs of developing countries, he argued.
“A number of governments, business, trade unions and civil society actors have led the way in shaping just transition solutions. We need to build on these solutions and innovate new ones, and we are looking forward to the second Net Zero Delivery Summit contributing to that cause.”
Given this additional event, the question of whether more events will result in more action presents itself. Some in the pensions industry believe this depends on the focus of the event.
“Yet another summit? I will leave the wisdom of that for readers to decide. But if ‘implementation and action' can be combined with 'much greater urgency', then I am okay with it,” said Mike Clark, founder director of Ario Advisory, warning that “humanity [is] currently behaving like the Titanic”.
What role can pension funds and insurers play to achieve a just transition?
