Both the president of the COP26 conference and Scotland's minister in charge of net zero have urged renewed internal action and external investment from financial services firms to tackle the climate crisis.
Addressing the Ethical Finance Global 2022 event, held at Royal Bank of Scotland's Gogarburn campus, Alok Sharma MPs spoke about what's changed in the months since the global summit in Glasgow.
He described that month last November as "tough but incredibly rewarding" and hailed the financial services industry for recognising the scale of the climate challenge - and stepping up to meet it with commitments to the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).
Sharma said around 500 financial institutions have now committed to the alliance, with almost half of these setting an interim target of 2030 or earlier to meet net zero emissions goals.
The signatories must set science-based, interim and long-term goals, which are supplemented by member-determined short-term targets and action plans.
Sharma added that most companies in the global industry now have "rigorous transition plans", which the alliance's taskforce is keeping tabs on, in order to tackle the potential for "greenwashing" messages.
However, he stated: "The world has changed markedly since Glasgow, we're in a much more perilous economic situation, with multiple global crises, precipitated by Vladimir Putin's brutal and illegal war in Ukraine.
"But the climate crisis threat is getting worse, as evidenced by yet more extreme weather events this summer, so it's more important than ever to turn the Glasgow commitments into action.
"This must be backed by finance, and much of what was pledged is not yet flowing to where it's needed - things must got further and faster."
Sharma urged more financial institutions to join GFANZ, arguing that it's "good for the bottom line as well as being what clients and customers want to see".
He added: "There are of course risks, but public finance can’t do this work alone, banks need to step up to the plate; especially in emerging markets."
Following that speech was the Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport Michael Matheson, who said that the transition to net zero "is not just an environmental imperative, but a significant economic opportunity", where Scotland can secure first mover advantage in some areas.
He echoed Sharma in pointing out that while much of the political focus is on reducing the burden of energy price rises, caused in a large part by the war in Urkaine, "very few shared challenges are worth tackling more than the climate emergency".
Indeed, he linked the two by stating that while some politicians are calling for short-term fixes involving a return to more polluting sources of energy, "the challenges we face should instead make a louder call for climate action - with a sharpened focus on energy security and independence - ultimately driving us away from fossil fuels".
Matheson also called on the financial services sector to help back the transition to renewable energy, talking up Scotland as an attractive place for that investment.
"As we move toward delivering on COP26 promises, there must an agreement on providing consistent data to tackle greenwashing concerns and measuring progress towards targets," he argued.
"Government clearly also has an important role to play, we've recently committed £2bn to protect and restore the natural environment, decarbonise homes and industries and position ourselves as a leader in green technology."
Matheson pointed to the ScotWind offshore leasing round - the biggest of its kind in the world - as being integral to supporting the creation of "high quality green jobs" and attracting supply chain investment.
"But scale can’t be achieved by public funding alone - private capital has a significant role - so I hope we can show that Scotland can play a key role as a financial centre for responsible investment; we want to be your partner of choice," he concluded.
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