Small island countries have sounded the alarm, stating they face ‘terrifying” impacts from climate change as UK prime minister Boris Johnson warns the world is at “one minute to midnight” at the COP26 conference in Glasgow.
World leaders representing 120 countries are expected to set out exactly what their respective countries are doing to tackle climate change later today (Monday, November 1), but small financial services business owners are concerned that the UN Climate Change Conference is little more than a “chance for leaders to strut about and pretend they’re going to do something”.
“The MIT paper, ‘The Limits To Growth’, published in 1972, 50 years ago, postulated if we continued on the current trajectory, we would be facing societal, economic and climate breakdown by 2040. Sadly, it appears we are right on track,” said Lewis Shaw, founder at Shaw Financial Services.
The primary goal in the battle against climate change is to keep warming at 1.5C. However, we are currently on track for 2.7C by 2100, which the UN has said would result in “climate catastrophe”.
“We can hope policymakers will plug a crucial gap in our approach to tackling climate change. While many countries have made net zero pledges, mostly shooting for 2050, a clear roadmap for getting there is generally missing. Getting all the answers we need is unlikely by the end of this conference, but we may still see steps being taken in right direction,” said Mobeen Tahir, associate director, research, at WisdomTree.
“Having said that, progress is already being made. Europe’s increasing focus on using carbon pricing as a preferred tool for achieving its climate goals is one clear example. The proposed Fit for 55 legislation aims to achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.”
He added that such interim targets make the ultimate net zero ambition more fathomable.
“They also move markets, as we have seen in the case of the strong rally in European Union Carbon Emission Allowances (EUAs) – a market that is expected to become progressively tighter as Europe pursues decarbonization,” he said.
Daniel Wiltshire, actuary and IFA at Wiltshire Wealth agreed that COP26 is a real opportunity to address the global climate crisis.
“It’s encouraging to see that general awareness and concern regarding climate change is increasing. Hopefully this will now start to translate into changes in behaviour,” he said.
However, for this to be effective he has warned that people must understand which changes will have the biggest impact.
“Studies show that investing your pension in sustainable funds is far more efficient for reducing your carbon footprint than eating less meat. Relatively modest lifestyle adjustments are all well and good, but to make a real difference, people need to put their money where their mouth is,” he added.
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