Climate Matters and so does COP 27

By Dafydd Rees

Expectations may be low for the COP27 UN Climate Conference but, as the 2022 SEC Newgate ESG Global Monitor has found, the public still expect their governments to act to lower carbon emissions around the world. Global finance has to do more to direct investment to the developing world. 

Change is difficult at the best of times. These are not the best of times. Next week Rishi Sunak will join other world leaders in Egypt for the UN COP27 Climate Change conference. A year on from the last such gathering in Glasgow there’s a host of reasons why expectations of making progress in the battle to lower global carbon emissions are low. A war in Europe, a global energy crisis and increased tensions between China and US are just a few of the most obvious issues.  

If the politicians need reminding as to why they are travelling to Sharm El-Sheikh the recent 2022 SEC Newgate ESG Global Monitor Survey for 2022 makes for essential reading. It measures global sentiment on environmental, social and governance issues for  a cross-section of a dozen countries around the world. 

Despite the economic and geopolitical shocks of the past 12 months it’s clear that ESG is a global priority that is here to stay. Nearly half of those surveyed 46%) cited environmental concerns as the single most important issue. We want action but there is a lack of trust. National Governments were rated the lowest globally. 

SEC Newgate has a team on the ground who will be providing regular updates on the negotiations and, as crucially, providing a flavour of the discussions taking place among delegates around the fringes of the event. Stay tuned on SEC Newgate social media channels for the duration of COP27 to watch/ listen/read our daily vlogs, livestreaming sessions, podcasts and insights. We have also developed our Guide to COP27, detailing the agenda, key issues to watch and our views on the opportunities and stumbling blocks. Your Guide to COP27 is available here. 

A focus on the climate needs of developing countries is certain to form a critical part of the debate at COP27. The pledge from rich nations made over a decade ago to provide $100 billion in annual investment to the rest of the world has still not been met. 

While the Global North has the vast majority of the climate finance investment to make, it is in the Global South that the greatest opportunities exist to bring about a real difference to lowering global emissions. According to the OECD the development finance system only mobilises around $40 billion in private capital annually, a mere 1% of the total investment needed. 

There are no facets of our lives left untouched by Climate Change. It’s a fact that the trade-offs between financial institutions, government, industry and civil society which can resolve the complex challenges we all face, may be out of reach in the next fortnight. 

Yet the global energy crisis is a reminder that the transition to a net zero world isn’t just an empty slogan. We need a faster transition to a cleaner, more affordable and secure energy system right now. Let’s be optimistic that, as the US civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King used to say, the “fierce urgency of now” helps make that a reality.   

For more information on our COP27 activities, get in touch with a member of the team at green&good@secnewgate.co.uk.