"Pledge by over 450 financial institutions in 45 countries billed as one of the successes of Cop26 summit"

"Hundreds of the world’s biggest banks and pension funds with assets worth $130tn have committed themselves to a key goal in limiting greenhouse gas emissions, the UK government will announce on Wednesday.

The pledge by more than 450 financial institutions in 45 countries is intended to be one of the top achievements by the UK hosts of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow, and comes as some of the other aims of the summit – chiefly, setting the world on a path to limit global heating to 1.5C – are looking hard to reach.

Finance is key to the massive economic transformation required to move away from fossil fuels and reach net zero so the global economy can be run without damaging the climate.

But experts and campaigners cast doubt on the government’s finance claims, pointing out that the banks making the pledge are still free to pour cash into fossil fuels, and need only divert a small slice of their funding to low-carbon ends in the next decade."

Fiona Harvey, Patrick Greenfield, Rowena Mason, and Jonathan Watts report for the Guardian November 2, 2021. [2]

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"Banks ‘Being Let Off Hook By Weak Climate Regulation’" (Guardian) [3]