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Photo courtesy of UNFCCC on Flickr.
GFANZ and Private Sector Finance Fail to Deliver at COP26
Representatives of civil society protest at Glasgow COP26 with a sign that reads "Net Zero is Not Zero."
Private sector financial players with assets totaling $130 trillion, who are beginning to acknowledge they are part of the problem and have a role in crafting a solution, came to COP26 en mass to sign a pledge called the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). It commits banks and investors to decarbonize their portfolios by 2050.
Unfortunately, there were no near-term plans, deadlines, or commitments to do anything real announced by the Alliance or any of its banker or investor members. It seemed to cynical observers that this was an empty vessel designed to take pressure off private financial industry players and delay any real action until some indeterminate future.